Council of Europe advances tribunal plan

The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers on May 14, 2025 launched the process to establish a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, putting the body at the center of a long-running effort to create a court focused on Russia’s invasion. The move came at the annual meeting of the foreign ministers of the Council of Europe’s 46 member states in Luxembourg, where ministers tasked Secretary General Alain Berset with leading the process through an agreement with Ukraine. (coe.int) The announcement was part of a broader package that also covered a claims commission for Ukraine, strategic priorities for the organization and a new environmental treaty. The tribunal proposal had already received political backing five days earlier from states participating in the so-called Core Group, which met in Lviv on May 9. (coe.int 1) (coe.int 2) ### What exactly did ministers approve on May 14? The May 14 decision did not itself create a functioning court. The Council of Europe said ministers “launched the process” and instructed Berset to lead work to set up a special tribunal within the organization’s framework through an agreement with Ukraine. The same statement said ministers welcomed parallel work on a claims commission for Ukraine and reaffirmed efforts tied to the return of Ukrainian children deported or forcibly transferred by Russia. Alain Berset said in the Council of Europe’s statement that member states had chosen to establish the tribunal within the Council of Europe framework and that “funding for the Tribunal must also be secured.” That phrasing underscored that the political endorsement on May 14 still had to be followed by legal and financing steps. (coe.int) ### Why is this tribunal separate from the International Criminal Court? The Council of Europe’s special tribunal page says the court is meant to investigate, prosecute and try individuals who bear the greatest responsibility for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. The same page says it aims to address a gap created by limitations in the International Criminal Court’s jurisdiction. (coe.int) The proposed tribunal is narrower than a general war-crimes court. The Council of Europe says it is designed around the crime of aggression — the decision to launch the war — rather than the broader range of atrocities and battlefield offenses that other mechanisms may examine. ### Who pushed it to this stage before the Council of Europe meeting? The Core Group of states working on the tribunal said in the May 9 Lviv Statement that technical work on the draft legal instruments had been completed. (coe.int) The statement said participants welcomed the completion of drafts needed to establish the tribunal within the framework of the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe’s background page says political backing was given in Lviv on May 9 and that Ukraine formally requested establishment of the tribunal on May 13, 2025. (coe.int) The next day, according to that page and the Council’s May 14 release, the annual meeting of foreign ministers endorsed the step. ### What happened after the May 14 endorsement? (coe.int) June 24, 2025 was the date when the Committee of Ministers authorized Secretary General Berset to sign the agreement with Ukraine and also authorized the establishment of an enlarged partial agreement on the tribunal’s management committee, according to the Council of Europe’s special tribunal timeline and working-party page. The same materials say ministers agreed to resume consideration of that management structure and told the GT-TRIBUNAL working party to continue examining the item and report back. (president.gov.ua) June 25, 2025 was the date when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Berset signed the agreement in Strasbourg establishing the tribunal, including its statute. Ian Borg, then chair of the Committee of Ministers and Malta’s foreign minister, said after the signing that interested parties — including Council of Europe members, non-member states and the European Union — would consider joining the enlarged partial agreement on management. (coe.int) ### What is the next concrete step now? The Council of Europe says states that want to participate can indicate their interest in joining the enlarged partial agreement on the tribunal’s management committee. That body is intended to provide funding and oversight for the tribunal’s operation. (coe.int) The GT-TRIBUNAL working party, set up on June 4, 2025 and chaired by Dutch ambassador Tanja Gonggrijp, was instructed to continue examining the management arrangement and report back to ministers’ deputies. The Council of Europe’s timeline also lists a January 23, 2026 financing agreement with the European Union for an advance team and an October 17, 2025 Dutch offer to host the tribunal’s preparatory phase. (coe.int) (coe.int) (coe.int)