Coe Chief Welcomes Progress In Preparing Statute Of The Special Tribunal For Russian Crimes

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Progress in preparing for the launch of the Special Tribunal within the framework of the Council of Europe, the completion of the creation of a compensation mechanism for the Register of Damage, and the consideration of claims against Russia by the European Court of Human Rights are parts of the unified system that the Council of Europe has created to ensure that Russia is held to full account for its crimes against Ukraine.

This was stated by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, who spoke at a press conference following the 13th meeting of the Core Group on the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The Core Group has achieved important progress at the legal level in preparing the statute of the Special Tribunal, which will have an impact on Ukrainians for generations to come, Berset noted, adding that the hard work is only just beginning but the interested parties will not stop until Russia bears full responsibility.

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He added that justice and compensation are two sides of the same coin. So the next step for the CoE will be to create a special claims commission to launch a compensation mechanism, which is a necessary element for the functioning of the Register of Damage.

He recalled that in April last year the Council of Europe launched the Register of Damage, which has already registered 13,000 claims for damage or destruction of homes. The Register has also recently launched a new category of claims in connection with the death of a close family member.

All these decisions, according to Berset, are part of a unified system of the Council of Europe, which fully utilizes its experience and knowledge to support Ukraine.

The European Court of Human Rights is already considering over 4,000 cases against Russia related to the events in Crimea, Donbas, and the full-scale war in Ukraine, Berset recalled, adding that a Claims Commission will be set up and a full compensation mechanism in the Register of Damages, and also a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression is a must.

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The 13th meeting of the international Core Group in Brussels laid the legal foundations of the Special Tribunal, including key elements of its statute.

Created in 2023, the Core Group on the Establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine is a group of senior legal experts from around 40 states who have been working with the Ukrainian authorities, the EU Commission, the European External Action Service and the Council of Europe to seek justice for Ukraine in the face of Russia's aggression.

The creation of such a tribunal was previously supported by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the European Parliament, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, and individual states.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, the 12th meeting of the Coalition of States (Core Group) to establish a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine was held in Riga.

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