The Secretary General of the Council of Europe Maria Peychynovych-Burych offered various options for the creation of a special tribunal to bring the Russian leadership to justice, as well as the corresponding assistance of the Council of Europe.

 According to "Evropeyska Pravda", Pejchynovych-Burych sent the proposal to the governments of the member states of the Council of Europe in an information document, which was also published.

 Pejchynovych-Burych proposed various options for creating a special tribunal and outlined the need for a reliable legal framework.

 For example, it proposed to create a special tribunal by concluding a multilateral agreement between Ukraine and other interested states based on the precedents of the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal, the International Military Tribunal for the Far East or the International Criminal Court.

 Another option could be the creation of a special tribunal under an agreement between Ukraine and an international organization, in particular, the United Nations. The creation of a special tribunal directly by the UN on the basis of a UN Security Council resolution is legally possible, but does not seem promising due to the Russian Federation's likely use of the right of veto.

The resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly will not be able to create international obligations binding on any state. Therefore, Pejchynovych-Burych claims, it does not seem possible to claim that the UN as such can establish an international tribunal. Instead, the resolution of the UN General Assembly could offer the UN Secretary General to conclude an agreement between Ukraine and the UN on the creation of an international tribunal to prosecute the crime of aggression against Ukraine.

 Such a bilateral treaty would be easier to conclude and could enter into force faster than a multilateral one.

 Another option could be a hybrid tribunal based on Ukrainian law and approved or supported by the UNGA. Such a hybrid tribunal will most likely be linked to the legal system of Ukraine with more or less strong international components, as shown by a comparison of precedents, in particular, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), the Specialized Chambers in Kosovo or the Extraordinary African Chambers (EAC ).

 The Secretary General offers possible assistance to the Council of Europe, for example, in the selection and appointment of judges, the development of rules of evidence and procedure, the provision of expertise in the conduct of cases, as well as in the secondment of experts. The organization is also ready to offer its support to the "temporary prosecutor's office".

 Any activity related to the special tribunal should be coordinated with the relevant existing mechanisms, in particular with the International Criminal Court, Pejchynovych-Burych believes.

 It also proposes that the Council of Europe play a leading role in creating a registry to record and document evidence and claims of damages, losses and injuries caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine. The register is an important part of current international initiatives to create a compensation mechanism for crimes of Russian aggression.

 The Secretary General emphasizes that the Council of Europe has a good capacity to develop a register of such applications, particularly in the light of the practice of the European Court of Human Rights and the process of monitoring its decisions. The organization already provides legal and policy advice, training investigative experts and specialists who work with victims of violence, especially women. These and other measures are included in the Action Plan of the Council of Europe for Ukraine for 2023-2026.

 Earlier it was reported that Ukraine, together with its allies and partners, developed three models for the establishment and work of a special tribunal regarding the crime of Russian aggression.

 At the end of January, representatives of 20 countries gathered in Prague for a meeting of the group on the creation of such a special tribunal.