In light of the devastating humanitarian toll that more than nine months of conflict have had on the civilian population of the nation, the European Union has asked for the establishment of a special tribunal to hold Russian President Vladimir Putin responsible for his incursion into Ukraine, the European Commission said via press release.
For instance, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has begun looking into allegations of war crimes committed during the conflict. Putin cannot be tried for the “crime of aggression” committed in invading Ukraine since the Kremlin has refused to acknowledge the court’s authority.
A “special independent international court based on a multilateral treaty” or a “specialized court integrated into a national justice system with international judges—a hybrid court” were the two options the European Commission proposed on Wednesday in light of these restrictions, as reported by Foreign Policy.
The EC underscored that Ukraine must get compensation from Russia and its oligarchs for the harm and devastation being inflicted on the Ukrainian people.
To ensure that Member States’ measures are coordinated at the EU level, the Commission established the “Freeze and Seize” Task Force in March 2022.
The EU Member States were able to use it to assist freeze €19 billion worth of Russian billionaires’ assets. The EU and other G7 members have banned almost €300 billion of the Russian Central Bank’s reserves.
