A Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression?

By Tom Dannenbaum, Assistant Professor of International Law at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University

Abstract

The Russian Federation is currently in the second phase of what appears to be a war of aggression against Ukraine. While Russia’s invasion is widely thought to satisfy the threshold of the crime of aggression, the routes to accountability for this crime are unclear: The International Criminal Court lacks jurisdiction and domestic courts offer an uncertain alternative. Therefore, Ukraine and a chorus of others are advocating the creation of a special tribunal. This piece explores the options as well as the arguments that speak in favour and against establishing such a special tribunal for the crime of aggression.

This article is republished from The Journal of International Criminal Justice.