The European Union Proposes The Establishment Of A Special Court In Order To LIKE And Demand The Possible Crimes Of The Russian War In Ukraine

Ursula von der Leyen and her European Union entourage visited the Bucha area, Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine)

JAKARTA - The European Union will try to establish a special court, supported by the United Nations, to investigate and try possible war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Wednesday.

"We are ready to start working with the international community, to get the widest possible international support for this particular court," von der Leyen said.

Ukraine has pushed for the creation of a special court to try Russian military and political leaders, who are considered responsible for the start of the war.

Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court (ICC) based in The Hague, the Netherlands launched its own investigation into alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes, days after Moscow's invasion on February 24, but has no jurisdiction to demand aggression in Ukraine.

"While continuing to support the International Criminal Court, we propose to form a special court, supported by the United Nations, to investigate and prosecute Russia's crimes of aggression," von der Leyen said.

According to EU officials, UN support for special courts is important, to help resolve the issue of immunity from prosecution for high-ranking officials such as heads of state.

While international law of habit provides so-called functional immunity to top state officials for many alleged errors, this immune consensus cannot be applied to prosecution before an international court.

The legal expert supporting the special court emphasized that the crime of aggression is a crime of leadership and will only target high-ranking state officials.

European Union officials said the issue "is the right reason why it is so important to gain international support and UN involvement to be able to address the principle of immunity".

Russia, which calls its actions in Ukraine a "special military operation", denies targeting civilians and other war crimes.

An act of aggression is defined by the United Nations as an "invasion or attack by the armed forces of a country against territory of another country, or any military occupation."

Despite the confession of the crime under international law, there are currently no special courts or stands that Ukraine can aim for.

There are some forms that special courts can take, but legal experts say it is most likely the so-called mixed court, which operates under Ukrainian law with support from the international community.

Such courts usually have international prosecutors and judges or mixes of local and international staff.