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Poland and Iceland Tip the Balance as Russia Special Tribunal Clears Key Threshold
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Poland and Iceland have agreed to become part of the agreement for creating a Special Tribunal to address Russia's crime of aggression against Ukraine. This agreement meets the legal threshold necessary for the document to be voted on.
The announcement was made by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha on April 14.
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“Iceland and Poland have confirmed their willingness to join the agreement required to launch the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine. We are grateful to our Icelandic and Polish partners for taking this important step. It marks a turning point: with 17 confirmations we have officially crossed the bare legal minimum of the Council of Europe member states required to put the agreement to vote,” Sybiha stated.
The Minister emphasized that the extended partial agreement on the Special Tribunal's steering committee could now be presented for approval during the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers meeting in Chisinau on May 14-15.
Iceland and Poland have confirmed their willingness to join the agreement required to launch the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression Against Ukraine.
— Andrii Sybiha 🇺🇦 (@andrii_sybiha) April 14, 2026
We are grateful to our Icelandic and Polish partners for taking this important step. It marks a turning point: with 17…
“We will continue to gather more signatures of countries to join—both within the Council of Europe and outside of it, on all continents and in all regions. We encourage all states to join this historic accountability effort,” Sybiha added.
He underlined that those responsible in Moscow must understand that “justice is inevitable” and holding them accountable is essential for achieving lasting peace.
In 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has officially ratified an agreement with the Council of Europe, marking a key advancement in the creation of a Special Tribunal to hold Russia accountable for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
Zelenskyy stressed the importance of quick parliamentary approval and the need for close cooperation with international allies to bring the tribunal into operation. He has directed the Ukrainian government to draft and submit the required legislative changes to Parliament, ensuring that all conditions for the tribunal’s establishment are met promptly.
“We must guarantee everything on our part for the full execution of this agreement,” Zelenskyy emphasized.
However, recent reports indicated that Russian leader Vladimir Putin has enacted a law that enables Russia to ignore rulings from foreign and international courts in criminal cases where Russia was not involved.
The new legislation stipulates that decisions made by foreign courts with criminal jurisdiction will no longer be recognized or enforced in Russia if the country was not part of the proceedings. The law also prevents the enforcement of judgments by international judicial bodies unless their authority is grounded in an international treaty or a resolution by the United Nations Security Council.
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-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
