\n The UK on Friday vowed to help Ukraine \"pursue criminal accountability for Russia's illegal invasion\", as international support grows for a special tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders.\n<\/p>\n
\n Foreign Secretary James Cleverly branded Moscow's renewed military assault on its neighbour, launched last February, \"an outrageous violation of the rules-based international order\".\n<\/p>\n
\n He said London had accepted an invitation from Kyiv to join \"a core group of like-minded partners\" seeking legal accountability, with a new \"hybrid\" tribunal among the potential options to be assessed.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"Alongside other international partners invited by Ukraine, the UK will shape thinking on how to ensure criminal accountability for Russia's aggression against Ukraine,\" his department said.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"This includes assessing the feasibility of a new 'hybrid' tribunal\".\n<\/p>\n
\n A specialised court could be integrated into Ukraine's national justice system but have foreign elements, such as international prosecutors and judges and foreign funding.\n<\/p>\n
\n The idea first emerged late last year and won the backing of German Foreign Minister Anna Baerbock on Monday during a visit to The Hague, which hosts the International Criminal Court (ICC).\n<\/p>\n
\n It would get around the fact that the ICC cannot prosecute Russia for the \"leadership\" crime of aggression, because Russia does not recognise the court.\n<\/p>\n
\n The ICC has nonetheless launched an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine, because Kyiv has accepted its jurisdiction.\n<\/p>\n
\n But there are growing Western calls for a better mechanism to target Russia's civilian and military leadership for ordering and overseeing the invasion.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"The atrocities we've witnessed in Ukraine are diabolical... (and) must not go unpunished,\" said Cleverly.\n<\/p>\n
\n \"That's why the UK has accepted Ukraine's invitation to join this coalition, bringing our legal expertise to the table to explore options to ensure Russia's leaders are held to account fully.\"\n<\/p>\n
\n However, there are major hurdles before any proposed special court could even be created, let alone put Russian leaders on trial.\n<\/p>\n
\n ICC prosecutor Karim Khan, who held talks with Baerbock on Monday, has opposed the creation of a special tribunal for Ukraine, fearing it could undermine his own probes into Russia's war.\n<\/p>\n
\n Meanwhile, broad international support would be seen as crucial to its formation, before the thorny issue of how to bring any suspects before it is tackled.\n<\/p>\n
\n Russia has said any Ukraine tribunal would lack legitimacy, and would refuse to extradite suspects.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The UK on Friday vowed to help Ukraine \"pursue criminal accountability for Russia's illegal invasion\", as international support grows for a special tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly branded Moscow's renewed military assault on its neighbour, launched last February, \"an outrageous violation of the rules-based international order\". He said London had accepted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":60,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[553],"tags":[],"ji_location":[],"class_list":["post-111420","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-live-feed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n