Special Tribunal in Luxembourg: A New Path to Justice
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, has announced that a Special Tribunal will soon begin its work in Luxembourg, aimed at investigating the aggression committed by Russia against Ukraine.
“The tribunal will launch next week in Luxembourg during a meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Council of Europe, where the Ukrainian foreign minister will present official demands”, - he stated during a press conference in Lviv.
In response to a question from journalists regarding the U.S. retreat from supporting the tribunal, Bettel emphasized that the tribunal is an initiative of the Council of Europe.
As the U.S. is not a member of this organization, he believes that the situation will be “geographically more complicated”.
“I hope that next week in Luxembourg we will make significant progress, as Andriy Sibiga is invited to be there, and the documents for establishing this tribunal will be officially presented”, - he added.
When asked by journalists whether this will affect peace negotiations, the minister pointed out that Putin is not listening to anyone.
“Even if he is caught, he continues to receive greetings from some countries that are members of international organizations that we support. They do not fulfill what they have signed, but whether this will exert pressure is still an open question.
It is crucial for Ukraine to have more strength from its side, and this will assist Ukraine. Together, we will continue to promote this initiative, and I hope that we will achieve progress in Luxembourg next week”, - he stated.
According to sources from the “Interfax-Ukraine” agency, the upcoming special tribunal will be able to investigate cases related to the so-called “trio” - Putin, Lavrov, and Mishustin - until the indictment stage by the prosecutor.
This means that the tribunal's prosecutor will formulate charges, make a public statement declaring that the “trio” is guilty of committing an act of aggression, and the indictment will be submitted to the pre-trial judge, at which point the process will be suspended until the “trio” leaves their positions.
Once they vacate their offices, the trial process will automatically resume. If these individuals are not physically present in the dock, the trial will be conducted in absentia.
Also, Lukashenko and Kim Jong-un will be under the tribunal's scrutiny, but the Iranian authorities will not be included. There is no legal component regarding the crime of aggression from Iran, as aggression is not about supplying drones and missiles.
The higher military and political leadership of the Russian Federation - Medvedev, Shoigu, Naryshkin, Gerasimov, Bortnikov, Zolotov, etc. - will have no immunity: investigations and convictions regarding them will be entirely possible.
