{"id":28499,"date":"2026-05-01T09:00:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T07:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/?p=28499"},"modified":"2026-04-29T10:27:19","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T08:27:19","slug":"call-for-contributions-symposium-on-the-special-tribunal-for-the-crime-of-aggression-against-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voelkerrechtsblog.org\/de\/call-for-contributions-symposium-on-the-special-tribunal-for-the-crime-of-aggression-against-ukraine\/","title":{"rendered":"Call for Contributions: Symposium on the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"

The establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine constitutes a significant moment in the development of international criminal law. Designed to address the International Criminal Court\u2019s (ICC) lack of jurisdiction<\/a> over the crime of aggression in the situation in Ukraine, the Tribunal reflects both an urge for the adaptability of international legal mechanisms and a reminder of the structural limits of the existing institutional framework.<\/p>\n

The Tribunal was established in 2025 through a bilateral agreement<\/a> between Ukraine and the Council of Europe, which includes its statute as an annex. It is expected<\/a> to be complemented by a multilateral framework for its governance and financing, upon which the Tribunal will be able to become operational. This places the Tribunal in a legally and institutionally complex position: It is neither a purely international court in the classical sense nor a straightforwardly domestic or internationalised tribunal. Furthermore, key features of the Tribunal\u2019s statute \u2013 including its jurisdictional design, its reliance on referrals by Ukrainian authorities, its provisions on cooperation with the ICC, and its treatment of immunities \u2013 highlight the extent to which institutional design and questions of legitimacy are closely intertwined.<\/p>\n

While these and related issues have been the subject of extensive scholarly debate (see, for instance, here<\/a>, here<\/a> and here<\/a>), much of the discussion has remained within relatively narrow doctrinal confines. This symposium seeks to build on that body of work while expanding the analytical frame. It invites contributions that situate the Tribunal within wider debates on the relationship between law and political constraint, and the conditions under which new institutional forms acquire legal and normative authority.<\/p>\n

In doing so, the symposium aims to foreground perspectives that are not always fully reflected in mainstream accounts. For instance, the Tribunal\u2019s emergence is closely connected to sustained advocacy by Ukrainian and other Eastern European actors, whose engagement has been central to its political and legal realisation. Their perspectives<\/a> \u2013 shaped by distinct historical and geopolitical experiences \u2013 are essential to a comprehensive assessment of the Tribunal\u2019s legitimacy and role.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the Tribunal must grapple with foundational tensions that extend beyond doctrinal analysis. Competing theoretical frameworks, including those developed in international relations scholarship, have sought to explain or critique legal responses to the war in Ukraine. In the language of Just War Theory, Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine is widely characterised<\/a> as lacking a \u201cjust cause<\/a>\u201d, a view associated with thinkers such as Michael Walzer<\/a>. Yet, within International Relations Theory, sceptical accounts persist, most notably John Mearsheimer\u2019s<\/a> realist argument, which attributes causal weight to NATO expansion. These competing perspectives raise a central question: can the crime of aggression be adjudicated beyond rival narratives, or will any tribunal be seen as an instrument of victor\u2019s power?<\/p>\n

Against this background, V\u00f6lkerrechtsblog convenes a symposium intended not merely as a forum for initial reflection, but as a sustained site of scholarly engagement. The symposium will accompany the Tribunal from its conceptual foundations through its operational phase and, ultimately, to an assessment of its longer-term impact. Further iterations will therefore accompany future stages in the Tribunal\u2019s development.<\/p>\n

Focus of this Call for Submissions<\/strong><\/p>\n

For this initial phase, we invite contributions addressing the foundational legal and institutional questions underpinning the Tribunal\u2019s anticipated functioning.<\/p>\n

Central among these is the relationship between legal authority and political constraint as reflected in the Tribunal\u2019s design and operation. Contributions may, inter alia<\/em>, wish to address:<\/p>\n