On Europe Day, an international coalition of 39 countries (Core Group) officially spoke out in favour of creating a special tribunal to consider Russia’s crime of aggression against Ukraine, according to the Office of the President.
The meeting took place in Lviv with the participation of Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, High Representative of the European Commission Kaja Kallas, European Commissioner Michael McGrath, representatives of the Council of Europe and foreign ministers of the participating countries. The event was moderated by Deputy Head of the Office of the President Iryna Mudra, who coordinates the work on the establishment of the tribunal.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Bousquet addressed the participants via video link. Zelenskyy stressed that the path to justice will be difficult, but it has already been chosen, and Russia must be held accountable for the war it started.
For over two years, experts from the Core Group countries have been preparing the legal basis for the future tribunal, which is intended to fill a gap in international law regarding responsibility for aggression. This work has resulted in draft founding documents.
The next stage is a meeting of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers on 13-14 May in Luxembourg, where the formal process of establishing the special tribunal will be launched.
The meeting in Lviv concluded with the adoption of a joint statement, which has already been dubbed the ‘Lviv Declaration.’