EU optimistic about joining Special Tribunal to prosecute Russian aggression against Ukraine

(Chris Powers – The Kyiv Independent) It is increasingly likely that the European Union will formally back a new court with a mandate to prosecute Russia’s leadership for the crime of aggression, according to a senior official in the EU’s diplomatic arm. “I am pretty optimistic that a positive decision will come” from the negotiations to have the EU sign up, said Frank Hoffmeister, director of the legal department in the European External Action Service. Hoffmeister spoke at an event organized by the European Policy Center think tank in Brussels, where he told the Kyiv Independent “I want to send a positive signal”. The special tribunal for prosecuting the crime of aggression against Ukraine was signed off by the Council of Europe in May 2025. The idea comes from legal scholar Philippe Sands, who identified the need for a special court to directly prosecute this breach of international law, for which the International Criminal Court lacks jurisdiction. – EU optimistic about joining Special Tribunal to prosecute Russian aggression against Ukraine