Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić says that setting up a Special Tribunal for Russia is taking time due to efforts to create a “bulletproof” legal framework.
“If we want to have something that, as lawyers would say, is bulletproof and be sure that it is 100-percent according to laws and no one could question that, I think that would be very important for the future of this tribunal, whatever we find as a solution to put forward, it has to be legally sound, and that is why it is unfortunately taking longer,” she said on the sidelines of the Informal Conference of the Ministers of Justice of the Council of Europe in Vilnius.
Burić added that the process is also taking time because the tribunal is not only about holding Russia accountable for its actions in Ukraine but also about setting an example for the future.
Lithuanian Justice Minister Ewelina Dobrowolska expressed a similar position at the conference, which is a key event of Lithuania’s presidency of the CoE Committee of Ministers.
“If we speak about the special tribunal, the only answer is not a regional one; it’s an international matter. It’s about how we can make sure that international law works,” she said.
Dobrowolska believes that the CoE could mobilise the political will of the countries in the region to establish the tribunal.
According to Burić, discussions about the tribunal continue among several dozen countries. One potential solution could be a bilateral agreement between the CoE and Ukraine.
“Russia has never faced any responsibility for its atrocities; they are acting this way because they are sure they can get away with it,” said Petro Beshta, Ukraine’s ambassador to Lithuania.
Discussions about setting up a Special Tribunal for Russia’s international crimes in Ukraine have been ongoing since the invasion began in February 2022.
The conference, entitled Towards Accountability for International Crimes Committed in Ukraine, also featured the signing the Council of Europe Framework Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law.
Lithuania is holding the presidency of the CoE Committee of Ministers from May 17 to November 13, focusing on support for Ukraine.
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