High-ranking law enforcement representatives from Ukraine, the US, and the EU gathered on Monday to inaugurate a new international prosecution facility in The Hague that will develop criminal war crimes cases against Russian leadership for the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
What it will do and why it fills a crucial vacuum in international war crimes legislation are outlined below.
The new facility, which will be supervised by Eurojust, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation with assistance from the United States, is known as the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine (ICPA).
A group of prosecutors and judges known as Eurojust from across the EU and beyond together to combat all types of serious cross-border crime.
The ICPA said in a statement on Monday that the new center will serve as a hub for independent prosecutors from various nations so they can collaborate side by side, exchange evidence in a fast and efficient manner, and agree on a common investigative and prosecutorial strategy in order to hold Russia accountable for the war in Ukraine.
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War Crimes Investigation In Ukraine Targets Russia’s Aggression
The International Criminal Police Agency (ICPA) will concentrate on constructing a case for prosecuting Russia for the crime of aggression, an overarching war crime created in 2010 that renders it unlawful for one country to use armed force against the sovereignty, integrity, or independence of another.
Additionally, more than 93,000 reports of war crimes in Ukraine are being investigated by authorities, who have also charged at least 207 suspects for trial in domestic Ukrainian courts.
The crime of aggression, in this case Russia’s political and military decision to attack another country, cannot yet be prosecuted in court due to a legal void in international law.
When Russia sent troops and tanks across the border on February 24, 2022, the conflict officially started.
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Source: usatoday.com