Ukraine may sign expanded partial agreement with Council of Europe on Special Tribunal by end of 2025 – Mudra
Ukraine expects to receive a mandate from the Council of Europe in September 2025 to sign an expanded partial agreement on a special tribunal to investigate the crime of aggression against Ukraine, the agreement itself will be signed by the end of this year, Deputy Head of the President's Office Iryna Mudra said.
"Next, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe must provide a mandate to the Secretary General to sign an expanded partial agreement. An expanded partial agreement is an instrument of the Council of Europe that can be joined not only by the member states of the Council of Europe, but also by non-members. We expect that such a mandate will be received in September of this year. The expanded partial agreement itself will be signed by the end of this year," Mudra said on the national telethon on Wednesday.
According to her, Ukraine hopes that the process of creating a tribunal and its defense will begin in 2026, Mudra explained that this is the selection of judges, a prosecutor, and defense.
"That is, the formal steps will be completed and the implementation of the agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe will begin. And the expanded partial agreement, which we expect will be joined by all countries that would be part of the coalition of states," Mudra said.
She said the main powers of the special tribunal will concern the investigation of the crime of aggression.
"And this will also result in holding the highest officials of Russia individually liable for planning, initiating and carrying out an act of aggression against Ukraine," Mudra said.
In addition, according to the deputy head of the President's Office, there is a possible option to extend the special tribunal to representatives of other countries that supported the war, however, the decision will be made by the tribunal itself.
The crime of aggression can be recognized not only starting from February 24, 2022, but from February 20, 2014.
"This is an important aspect, because today we do not have legal confirmation of the act of aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine. And such decisions will, in fact, have legal confirmation of the act of aggression since 2014. Which will also help us expand the mandate and the register of damages, and the future compensation mechanism for receiving compensation, starting from 2014," Mudra said.
As reported, on June 25, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset signed an agreement on the Special Tribunal to investigate the crime of aggression against Ukraine. On July 1, Zelensky signed documents for ratification by the Verkhovna Rada of the Agreement on the Establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression of Russia against Ukraine and announced that he expects the teams of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the President to quickly present a corresponding schedule of work with partners to implement the agreement on the establishment of the tribunal and the launch of the institution.