In a side event held on the margins of the 24th session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Bar Association called on states to endorse the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine (STCA). The side event, which was organised by the IBA and co-sponsored by Costa Rica, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, provided an overview of the current status of efforts to achieve accountability for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, explained key legal features of the STCA and placed the Special Tribunal in the context of larger efforts to prosecute the crime of aggression, including at the ICC.

The event was opened with remarks from Ms Lauma Paegļkalna, Deputy Minister of Justice of Latvia, and Mrs Audra Plepytė, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania. This was followed by a panel discussion including HE Andriy Kostin, Ambassador of Ukraine to the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons; Dr Nout van Woudenberg, Cluster Coordinator ‘Accountability for Ukraine’ at the Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; Dr Mark Ellis, Executive Director of the IBA; and Professor Dr Claus Kreß, Professor of International Law and Criminal Law, Director of the Institute of International Peace and Security Law at the University of Cologne and Special Adviser to the Prosecutor of the ICC on the Crime of Aggression. The event was moderated by Ms Kate Orlovsky, Director of the IBA Hague Office.

HE Kostin affirmed: ‘Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the people of Ukraine have remained committed to achieving justice for the crime of aggression. The future of the international order is at stake. We cannot allow impunity for the most serious international crime.’

On 25 June 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Council of Europe Secretary General signed an agreement on the establishment of the Special Tribunal, which includes the Statute of the Special Tribunal. In October 2025, the Netherlands confirmed its willingness to host the first two phases of the creation of the Tribunal.

The creation of the STCA follows two years of consultations by a ‘Core Group’ of supportive states. In the next step, the Council of Europe will invite states, including non-European states, to become members of an ‘Enlarged Partial Agreement’. States that are members and associate members of the Enlarged Partial Agreement will provide management and financing to the STCA.

Dr Ellis stated: ‘The Special Tribunal is a critical instrument to achieve justice for victims in Ukraine. Its existence is a testament to the determination of Ukraine and the Core Group to ensure accountability for the crime of aggression, and is a major step forward for international law. The IBA now calls on states to maintain momentum for victims of the crime of aggression by joining the Enlarged Partial Agreement.’

As part of the IBA’s response to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine since February 2022, the IBA has continually supported the creation of the Special Tribunal, including through a resolution passed by the IBA Governing Council in February 2023 and a series of panel discussions focusing on the Tribunal in Washington, DC, Geneva, Kyiv and in The Hague over the course of 2025.

Kate Orlovsky, Director of the IBA Hague Office, stated: ‘ICC States Parties gathered this week in the Hague to reaffirm their commitment to the core principle of international justice, which is that the most serious crimes, including the crime of aggression, must not go unpunished. As part of this commitment, states should take the concrete action of joining the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.’

ENDS

Contact: IBApressoffice@int-bar.org

Notes

1. The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates and, where warranted, tries individuals charged with the gravest crimes of concern to the international community: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. As a court of last resort, it seeks to complement, not replace, national courts. Governed by an international treaty called the Rome Statute.

2. The Rome Statute is the treaty that established the ICC. It sets out the Court’s jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and – as of an amendment in 2010 – the crime of aggression.

3. Related material:

   • Committing to justice for Ukraine: IBA and partners convene in The Hague to discuss the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression
   • States should commit to justice for victims on International Criminal Justice Day
   • US sanctions against the International Criminal Court are denounced by the IBA
   • IBA condemns the imposition of additional US sanctions against International Criminal Court judges and officials

4. The International Bar Association (IBA), the global voice of the legal profession, is the foremost organisation for international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. Established in 1947, shortly after the creation of the United Nations, it was born out of the conviction that an organisation made up of the world's bar associations could contribute to global stability and peace through the administration of justice.

   The IBA acts as a connector, enabler, and influencer, for the administration of justice, fair practice, and accountability worldwide. The IBA has collaborated on a broad range of ground-breaking, international projects with the United Nations, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, The Commonwealth, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, among others.

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