Since the onset of the Russian Federation's full-scale aggression against Ukraine, Ukrainian and international legal communities have been urging the establishment of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. As of January 2025, the Core Group of states tasked with its creation has made significant progress by agreeing on its jurisdictional aspects and drafting a statute.

The professional legal community, civil society organizations, and the Government of Ukraine emphasize the importance of two critical aspects:

• A fully-fledged international mandate for the Tribunal, enabling it to deliver justice in the name of international peace and accountability.
• The ability to lift personal and functional immunities for sitting heads of state and other high-ranking officials from aggressor states.

Timing is also of the essence. Delays in establishing the Tribunal increase the likelihood that perpetrators might evade justice. Acting swiftly remains crucial to ensuring accountability and reinforcing international rule of law.

We invite you to join our discussion and share your thoughts.   

Date: 10 February 2025, 9.00 NY/ 15.00 CET / 16.00 Kyiv

Co-organizers: Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA) and Human Rights Institute UBA, Global Accountability Network (GAN), International Bar Association (IBA) and International Section of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA International)

Format: online (ZOOM)

Language: English

The agenda

Moderator: Inna Liniova, International Operations Advisor, the Ukrainian Bar Association

Speakers:

• Anton Korynevych, Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Agent of Ukraine before the International Court of Justice 
• Dr Mark Ellis, Executive Director of the International Bar Association
• Professor David M. Crane, former Chief Prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Founder of the Global Accountability Network
• Ambassador Hans Corell, Former Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the Legal Counsel of the United Nations
• Ambassador David J. Scheffer, International Francqui Professor, KU Leuven, Belgium (Spring 2022), Professor of Practice, Arizona State University, Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
• Hon. Professor Irwin Cotler,  International Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, an Emeritus Professor of Law at McGill University, former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and long-time Member of Parliament, and an international human rights lawyer

Prior registration is MANDATORY to participate.

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For additional information about the event, contact: +380 (97) 256-30-41, e-mail: gr@uba.ua. Contact person – Daria Lupiichuk.