What does NRC think | ‘Russia tribunal’ is necessary, The Hague the logical seat

Another tribunal? Yes, anyway. The establishment of a special court for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Friday announced In LVIV, it is important for the international legal order. Even if the chance of successful trial of Vladimir Putin is low.

The special tribunal, in which Ukraine cooperates with the European Union, will focus exclusively on the crime aggression, or the invading of another country. It will be complementary to the International Criminal Court, which in 2023 already one arrest warrant issued against Putin for war crimes in Ukraine, more specifically the kidnapping of children. According to its own rules, the Criminal Court cannot prosecute Putin for aggression, because Russia is not affiliated with the Court.

At first glance it may sound like a lawyer, a new court for a war that has already been housed with the Criminal Court, the permanent tribunal that deals with the most serious crimes in the world. Moreover, a new tribunal does not change the most important problem for Putin’s trial: the lack of an international police force to arrest him.

The aggression ribunal even has an extra obstacle: Contrary to the Criminal Court, the heads of state may not prosecute. Because Putin has not yet shown an interest in his retirement – and will perhaps be less inclined to that – a lot of patience is a requirement, as almost always in international law.

Coins without defendants in the suspect bench: it is a phenomenon that gives the Criminal Court a toothless image. For example, it has been waiting for Sudanese former President Bashir for sixteen years and for twenty years on the Ugandan rebel leader Joseph Kony. This raises the question of whether the initiators with an aggression ribunal do not organize their own disappointment and humiliation.

But Putin’s arrest is by no means excluded, nor that of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who also is wanted By the Criminal Court. That proves the surprising transfer of the Filipino former president Rodrigo Duterte earlier this year. Because Duterte had fallen into disgrace with his successor, he is now in the cell in Scheveningen. It can happen to the best autocrat.

A special tribunal for Russian aggression broadcasts a signal from the founding. Not only to Putin, but also to other leaders with tendencies to imperialism. It shows that there is an international norm and that there are still states that are committed to it. Whether it’s Putin and the Baltic states, about Xi Jinping and Taiwan or Donald Trump and Greenland; They can ignore the sovereignty of countries, but get new worries in return. Unlike the Criminal Court, the Aggression Court may conduct processes in absentia. That is not saving, but helps to maintain the norm.

Prime Minister Schoof spoke economical about whether this tribunal, just like the Criminal Court, the International Court of Appeal and the now closed stands for former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Lebanon, should be established in The Hague. Only if other countries contribute equally to the ‘hefty price tag’, then it is an option according to him. More enthusiasm is in place. The Hague as an international city of Peace and Law does a lot for the reputation of the Netherlands. If the cabinet wants to keep that, it must be consistent.

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