On July 3, the International Center for the Prosecution of Those Perpetrators of Crimes of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) began its work in The Hague.
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It was created within the framework of the European Judicial Cooperation Agency Eurojust.
The Center is not authorized to arrest or charge suspects, its task is to coordinate the actions of the participating countries involved in the investigation of such crimes, and, above all, the exchange of information.
ICPA plans to create a centralized database of all collected evidence to assess what crimes have been committed since the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
Crimes of aggression are distinct from military crimes and require proof of a connection between an act, such as a blockade or shelling, and a decision taken by the highest political or military leadership.
In addition to Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Romania are participating in the initial stage of the ICPA. The International Criminal Court (ICC) will assist ICPA in its investigations.
And while the ISS cannot prosecute the Russian leadership for crimes committed during the military invasion of Ukraine because Russia has not ratified the Rome Statute, the EU is considering other ways to bring those responsible to justice.
We are not on the side of Ukraine, we are on the side of justice, said Karim Khan, Attorney General of the ISS, on the occasion of the launch of the ICPA.
The US has also appointed a Special Prosecutor for Crimes of Aggression to assist the Center and made its first contribution to its database last week. This contribution, according to US Deputy Attorney General Kenneth Polite, will not be the last.
The International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression (ICPA) includes prosecutors from Kyiv, the EU, the US and the International Criminal Court.
Thanks to the ICPA, independent prosecutors from different countries will be able to work together in one place every day, share evidence quickly and efficiently, and agree on a common investigation and prosecution strategy, according to a press release on the creation of the center. “The work of the ICPA will effectively prepare and contribute to any future prosecution of aggression.
That is, the work of the center is the first step towards the creation of a special tribunal that could hold Russian officials accountable for the war against Ukraine.
The war in Ukraine is the most documented in history, the creators of the center note, and for the first time an active investigation of the crime of aggression is being carried out already during the war, and not after it.
At the same time, we are dealing with an international crime that has rarely been prosecuted and for which there is no standard practice, they write.
So far, the only charge brought by an international organization against the Russian authorities in the context of the war in Ukraine has been an arrest warrant for Putin and children’s rights ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova issued by the International Criminal Court. The accusations against them relate exclusively to the deportation of Ukrainian children.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.