Special tribunal against Putin's war crimes? International law expert thinks this is the wrong approach

Created: 11/30/2022 13:31

By: Stephanie Munk

Ukraine calls for a special tribunal against Putin's crimes in the war.

An international law expert tells Merkur.de that he thinks this is the wrong way to go. 

Munich/Hamburg - Russia's war crimes in Ukraine must be punished: not only Ukraine demands this, but also its western allies share this opinion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday (November 29) called for a special tribunal to be set up - similar to the Nuremberg tribunal that tried Nazis for their war crimes after World War II.

The instruments of the International Criminal Court (ICC) are not sufficient against Vladimir Putin and Co., according to Zelenskyj.

International law expert Dr.

Gerd Hankel from the Hamburg Institute for Social Research has written a book on the possible punishment of Russian crimes in the Ukraine war.

In an interview with

from IPPEN.MEDIA, he explains that he doesn't think a special tribunal is a good idea.

International law expert Dr.

Gerd Hankel from the Hamburg Institute for Social Research published a book on the subject: "Putin in court?

Possibilities and Limits of International Criminal Justice”.

© Private

Ukraine's special tribunal plays into the hands of those who understand Putin from the outset

"If you set up a special tribunal, similar to what happened after the Second World War, as many states as possible should support it," said the international law expert.

If only a few states were to set up a tribunal against Russia's war of aggression, "and only from the West at that", this would not serve the acceptance of the tribunal and ultimately not the enforcement of the law.

In the case of the Russian war crimes in Ukraine, however, there are many countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa "that don't entirely share our opinion." The pretext that the tribunal is "Euro-centric" will quickly come from the north hemisphere and is ultimately a form of self-righteousness.

"The argument will come up immediately: What about the Iraq war and Afghanistan, what about George W. Bush and Tony Blair?" Hankel said.

In fact, on Tuesday evening (November 29), AfD boss Tino Chrupalla put forward exactly this argument in a talk with Markus Lanz and also refused to call Putin a war criminal.

According to Hankel, the problem is: "A special tribunal comes very close to judicial revenge", and thus plays into the hands of critics from the outset.

At the Nuremberg trials after the Second World War, leading National Socialists such as Herrmann Göring and Rudolf Hess were tried.

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Russia's war crimes to be tried in The Hague: 'A much broader base'

But how can Putin and other Russian commanders be held accountable for war crimes instead?

Hankel thinks the International Criminal Court is the right place for this.

"The International Criminal Court currently has 123 member states, which is a much broader base and has a higher standard of impartiality."

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However, according to Hankel, the problem that Selenskyj sees with regard to the ICC in The Hague actually exists: Russia cannot be accused and prosecuted there for the Ukraine war as such.

Because: Russia has never ratified the Rome Statute.

This is the legal basis of the court - and it is also expressly stated there that nationals of a state who have not signed it cannot be sentenced for a war of aggression.

Hence Selenskyj's idea of ​​a special tribunal, according to the expert: Such a tribunal could also accuse and punish the Ukraine war itself - "as the mother or father of all crimes committed in it".

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In the case of crimes in the Ukraine war, the "universal rule of law" applies

In The Hague, however, crimes committed during a war can certainly be prosecuted: crimes against humanity, for example, and genocide.

"In the case of these crimes, the so-called principle of universal jurisdiction also applies," says the international law expert.

"This means that these are acts that are so serious that every judiciary in the world can declare itself responsible for them." It is also irrelevant whether Russia has ratified the Rome Statute or not.

And: No state in the world could veto it.

Ukraine and several other states appealed to the International Criminal Court shortly after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the hearing of evidence is ongoing.

In the nine months of the Ukraine war, Ukrainian authorities have already recorded thousands of cases of alleged Russian war crimes.

"These crimes are not subject to a statute of limitations": Expert considers convictions to be likely

Images of mass graves and murdered civilians, some with their hands tied behind their backs, went around the world.

The most striking example: the atrocities in Bucha.

Whether Putin and his circle will ever be held accountable for this remains to be seen.

Expert Hankel is optimistic.

“These crimes are time-barred.

You can't say: In two or three years everything will be forgotten.” But it is undoubtedly a “long, long and arduous road” to the indictment and conviction.

"But many cases are so clear, there can be no excuse."