Tribunal Coalition Takes Legal Step

Thirty-six countries and the European Union signed an agreement in Chișinău establishing the Management Committee for the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine, according to the Office of the President of Ukraine. The agreement was signed during a ministerial meeting of the Council of Europe on May 15, 2026.

The document sets out the committee’s composition, powers and working procedures. It will oversee the tribunal’s organizational launch, including the development of its budget, institutional structure and internal regulations.

The tribunal is intended to prosecute senior Russian military and political leaders for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. Organizers say the separate mechanism is necessary because the International Criminal Court lacks jurisdiction over aggression involving states that are not parties to its founding statute.

Iryna Mudra, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, called the agreement a concrete legal step toward making the tribunal’s creation irreversible. An Advance Team has been preparing the institution since February, while the next stages include appointing judges, approving procedural rules and beginning investigations. The tribunal is expected to be based in The Hague under the Council of Europe and operate as an international organization.