The Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine will prepare an indictment against Lukashenko for the crime of aggression he committed

"The adopted Statute of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine contains provisions granting the tribunal jurisdiction over the crime of aggression against Ukraine committed by Lukashenko. The tribunal does not recognize the functional immunity of the Belarusian dictator, nor any possible amnesties related to this crime. Importantly, the tribunal will primarily be guided by the norms of international law, under which the fact of Lukashenko's commission of the crime of aggression is indisputable", stated Pavel Latushka, Deputy Head of the United Transitional Cabinet of Belarus and Head of the National Anti-Crisis Management (NAM).

The Statute of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine was developed on the basis of an agreement to be signed this evening by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Alain Berset at the Council of Europe headquarters.

"Today, it can be unequivocally stated: an indictment will be prepared against the Belarusian dictator for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

It is important to underline that the Special Tribunal is an international tribunal, not a Ukrainian one. This means that it will apply Ukrainian national law only in cases where a specific matter cannot be resolved based on the provisions of the Statute, the rules of procedure and evidence, customary international law, international treaties, or general principles of international law.

In other words, international law will take precedence.

In addition, the Statute includes a reference to UN General Assembly Resolution 3314, which the tribunal must consider when determining the gravity and scale of actions falling under the definition of an “act of aggression.” Lukashenko’s actions in providing Belarusian territory for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine meet these criteria — especially given that this is explicitly defined as an act of aggression in Article 3 of UNGA Resolution 3314.

Judges and prosecutors will be international. All proceedings against Lukashenko may be conducted in absentia.

A prison sentence will be served in a state that signs an agreement with the Special Tribunal. If no country signs such an agreement, the sentence may be served in Ukraine", added Pavel Latushka, following a preliminary analysis of the published Statute.

It should be recalled that earlier, at the April PACE session, on the initiative of Pavel Latushka, an amendment was included in another PACE resolution, which provides for the extension of the jurisdiction of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine to include the relevant actions of the highest military and political leadership of the Lukashenko regime.

---