Dutch parliament supports special aggression tribunal for Ukraine

Members of parliament overwhelmingly adopted a motion calling on the government to "actively explore" at the European Union and the United Nations the setting up a special court to put on trial individuals for the crime of aggression. The Hague is also the seat of the International Criminal Tribunal (ICC), which opened an investigation into alleged war crimes in days after Moscow's Feb. 24 invasion, but does not have jurisdiction to prosecute aggression in Ukraine.

Dutch parliament on Thursday voted in support of a proposal to establish a special tribunal in The Hague to prosecute Russian military and political leaders for the invasion of Ukraine. Members of parliament overwhelmingly adopted a motion calling on the government to "actively explore" at the European Union and the United Nations the setting up a special court to put on trial individuals for the crime of aggression.

The Hague is also the seat of the International Criminal Tribunal (ICC), which opened an investigation into alleged war crimes in days after Moscow's Feb. 24 invasion, but does not have jurisdiction to prosecute aggression in Ukraine. Moscow has rejected allegations by Kyiv and Western nations of war crimes. The Kremlin has said it launched what it called a "special military operation" to demilitarise its neighbour.

Kyiv has been lobbying for setting up a special international or hybrid tribunal dedicated to prosecuting high-level Russian perpetrators for the invasion which would complement the work at the ICC. Last week the foreign ministers of the Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, issued a joint statement calling on the EU to support the establishment of the new tribunal.

An act of aggression is defined by the United Nations as the "invasion or attack by the armed forces of a state of the territory of another state, or any military occupation ..." Despite the crime's recognition under international law there is currently no specific court or tribunal to which Ukraine can turn.

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