International Centre for Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression against Ukraine officially started its work in The Hague

The International Centre for Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA) has officially started its work in The Hague (Netherlands). This is stated in the message of the Prosecutor General's Office, Ukrainian News Agency reports.

"This is the beginning of the end of impunity for the crime of aggression. From today, Ukrainian prosecutors will work in The Hague. JIT representatives from Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Romania will join the work of ICPA with them at the initial stage. The U.S. Special Prosecutor for the Crime of Aggression will support the activities of the Centre. Other countries and institutions will be able to join in the coming months," said Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin.

He added that the ICPA is of special importance for Ukraine - it is a clear signal that the world is united and adamant on the path of ensuring the responsibility of the Russian regime for all its crimes: the crime of aggression, genocide and war crimes.

Kostin noted that there is a gap in the architecture of international criminal justice regarding responsibility for the crime of aggression. The ICPA will be one of the elements that will strengthen the legal mechanisms for the prohibition of aggression, complement and strengthen this architecture.

He thanked Eurojust, which hosts the Centre on the basis of its facilities, and the European Commission, which provides funding.

European Union Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders noted that by creating the ICPA, the EU confirms that it will make every effort to make Russia bear full responsibility for international crimes committed during the war in Ukraine, in particular for the crime of aggression.

The Prosecutor General’s Office notes that the ICPA is a unique judicial center integrated into Eurojust to facilitate national investigations of the crime of aggression related to the war in Ukraine. Thanks to the ICPA, independent prosecutors from different countries will be able to cooperate in a single place, quickly and efficiently exchange evidence and agree on a joint strategy of investigation and prosecution.

The ICPA will facilitate the efficient preparation of cases and participate in any future prosecution for the crime of aggression, regardless of the jurisdiction to which the cases are brought.

In addition to Ukraine, five members of the Joint Investigative Team (JIT) (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and Romania) are participating in the initial phase of the ICPA work. Following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the JIT participants, the United States appointed a Special Prosecutor for the Crime of Aggression to facilitate the work of the ICPA. It is expected that in the coming months, other countries and organizations will join the participants of the ICPA centre, in particular the ICC and the EU Consultative Mission in Ukraine.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, in May, Ukraine presented to France the working mechanism of the Special Tribunal regarding the crime of armed aggression by Russia against Ukraine, the plan for the creation and start of operation of the International Centre for Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression against Ukraine (ICPA), as well as information on how interested states and international organizations can join the work of the Centre.