“Russia Must Pay For Its Crimes”

On November 3o, 2022, the European Commission presented a litany of legal options to Member States of the European Union to make sure that Russia is held accountable for their atrocities committed in Ukraine. Among these options are the ongoing support to the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC), working with the international community on creating an ad hoc international tribunal or a specialized hybrid tribunal to investigate and prosecute Russia’s crime of aggression, and creating a new structure to manage frozen and immobilized public Russian assets.

Putin’s atrocities in Ukraine were met with unprecedented legal responses, including engaging the ICC. As the Commission confirmed, 14 Member States of the European Union are already investigating international crimes perpetrated by Russia in Ukraine. The European Union also fully supports the ICC’s investigations into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine. However, as Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute, and hence, the ICC cannot investigate the crime of aggression perpetrated by Russia. As such, the European Commission is proposing two options to address the gap by establishing “a special independent international tribunal based on a multilateral treaty or a specialized court integrated in a national justice system with international judges – a hybrid court.”

Among States supporting the establishment of a specialized tribunal for the crime of aggression is France. According to a statement, addressing the crime of aggression is a priority. France also “fully supports Ukraine’s judicial system and the International Criminal Court, both of which have jurisdiction to conduct impartial, independent investigations aimed at ensuring accountability for those responsible for such crimes.”

Several States and experts have been working on a proposal to establish such a mechanism.

The European Commission stressed that “Russia and its oligarchs must compensate Ukraine for the damage and destruction that is being caused.” In March 2022, the Commission established a special mechanism, the so-called “Freeze and Seize Task Force” to coordinate the responses of Member States in this regards. According to a statement of the European Commissions, Member States have so far frozen €19 billion of assets belonging to Russian oligarchs. Furthermore, close to €300 billion of the Russian Central Bank reserves are blocked. In October 2022, the European Council requested the Commission to identify options for using frozen assets for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

The European Commission has now made several proposals on how to use the frozen assets to rebuild Ukraine including to “set up a structure to manage the frozen public funds, invest them and use the proceeds in favor of Ukraine [and] once the sanctions are lifted, the Central Bank assets will need to be returned. This could be linked to a peace agreement, which compensates Ukraine for the damages it has suffered. The assets that would need to be returned, could be offset against this war reparation.”

The European Commission is to discuss these options with Members States and decide on next steps.

As States and international bodies continue to collect evidence of atrocities, investigate and explore avenues for justice, no stone should be left unturned. Putin’s atrocities in Ukraine put to test our ability to unite in the joint effort to ensure justice and accountability. This endavor has been progressing well so far. However, there are still many legal issues that require further attention and collaborative efforts. These legal steps are not only to address Putin’s atrocities but also send a strong message to all other dictators who have Putin’s aspirations – that attacking another sovereign State will not be tolerated and will be met with decisive responses. We have failed to do so in 2014. However, this will never happen again.