Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine

The Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine is an ad hoc international criminal tribunal intended to prosecute individuals responsible for the Russian invasion of Ukraine under the legal concept of the crime of aggression, as a complement to the existing International Criminal Court investigation in Ukraine. An agreement between the Council of Europe and Ukraine to establish it was signed on 25 June 2025 in Strasbourg, and the agreement includes the tribunal statute as an annex. As of 26 March 2026 the tribunal had not yet been established, and the source describes preparatory steps such as an advance team created around January 2026. Article 1 of the statute contains no time limitation, so the tribunal could prosecute the 2022 invasion and also the 2014 invasion and annexation of Crimea. It has three organs: the Chambers, the Office of the Prosecutor and the Registry. It may impose prison sentences of up to 30 years, or exceptionally a life sentence, as well as fines and confiscation of assets. It is described as the first formal international tribunal for aggression created independently of the United Nations Security Council.