Ukraine began advocating for the creation of a mechanism to prosecute Russia's political and military leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine in March 2022, after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy proposed a peace plan in October 2022, which outlined the proposal to establish a special tribunal. The proposal received the support of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (CoE) and the European Parliament.

Since early 2023, a coalition of States known as the 'Core Group' met regularly to discuss different options for the creation of the Special Tribunal. In April 2024, the CoE authorised its Secretary General to prepare a draft agreement between the CoE and Ukraine for the establishment of the Tribunal.

The agreement on the establishment of the Special Tribunal was signed in Lviv on 9 May 2025 by the CoE, the Prime Minister of Ukraine, the Commission of the European Union, and representatives of States that are part of the Core Group. The process to set up the Special Tribunal was formally initiated at the annual session of the CoE's Committee of Ministers in Luxembourg on 14 May 2025.

Join this panel of expert speakers for an in-depth discussion on the status of the Special Tribunal and the opportunities its creation presents.

Moderator:

• Michael Cooper, Executive Director, American Society of International Law

Panelists:

• David Crane, Former Chief Prosecutor for the UN Special Court for Sierra Leone; Professor, Washington College of Law, American University
• Mark Ellis, Executive Director, International Bar Association
• Jessica Kim, Former U.S. Special Prosecutor for the Crime of Aggression, Department of Justice
• Ambassador David Scheffer, Senior Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations; Professor of Practice, Arizona State University
• Senior Ukrainian government official