Hague City Council supports idea of conducting special tribunal over Putin in city

The Hague City Council has supported the initiative of Lotte van Basten Batenburg, the leader of the Dutch VVD party, to establish a special tribunal in the city to investigate Russian crimes committed in Ukraine.

Source: European Pravda, referring to a comment of Lotte van Basten Batenburg to Ukrinform

She noted that the International Criminal Court, special tribunals for Rwanda and Yugoslavia, as well as European justice and police bodies, Eurojust and Europol, are already based in The Hague.

"Therefore, we have the experience and international legal infrastructure to host the future special tribunal for Ukraine, which will investigate and prosecute the crimes and atrocities committed in this war of aggression waged by Russia", Van Basten Batenburg said.

The politician added that the future special tribunal for the Russian Federation could be located in the offices and halls of the Rwanda and Yugoslavia tribunals, as they are already completing their work.

"I can imagine that a new or second building will be needed, given how many war crimes have already been registered and investigated in Ukraine. The best place would certainly be near Europol, Eurojust, the International Criminal Court and the special tribunals for Rwanda and Yugoslavia," she believes. 

It should be recalled that the House of Representatives of the Dutch parliament supported a resolution in October calling for the creation of a special tribunal in The Hague to try Russian President Vladimir Putin and others involved in war crimes in Ukraine.

Some countries and organisations, including Ukraine, are calling for a special international tribunal to investigate war crimes committed by Russia during its invasion of Ukraine.

The International Criminal Court was established 20 years ago and investigates genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression. No one is immune from the decisions of the court, including heads of state. However, the International Criminal Court cannot investigate the crime of aggression if both parties to the conflict are not parties to the Rome Statute. Neither Russia nor Ukraine have ratified the Rome Statute.

Meanwhile, Karim Khan, the Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, considering the punishment of the Russian Federation for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, believes it will be appropriate to focus on already existing institutions and not on the creation of new ones.

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