German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has announced that the Russian president must understand that his crimes will not go unpunished, and has called for the creation of a special tribunal to try him, writes Politico.
Baerbock spoke after a visit to the International Criminal Court in The Hague and stressed that Russia’s leaders must be held accountable for the invasion of Ukraine. However, the minister warned that it is impossible to do this in court. Russia does not recognize that it is under the jurisdiction of the Hague Criminal Court; it is also unlikely that the UN Security Committee will refer the case to the International Criminal Court, as Moscow, as a permanent member of the committee, has veto rights.
To avoid bypassing justice in this way, Baerbock urged partner countries to create a special tribunal to try Russian leaders. The tribunal would operate independently of the International Criminal Court, and its jurisdiction would be derived from the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
In order for the tribunal to function successfully, it must be supported by a broad coalition of countries and involve prosecutors and judges from different countries, and the tribunal must work outside of Ukraine to avoid a lack of impartiality.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany emphasized that in addition to this solution, it is also necessary to work on the revision of international laws in order to remove the limitation that does not allow the punishment of such crimes as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Baerbock said Putin must know he will be punished.
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