Ewelina Dobrowolska: Lithuania would actively contribute to the work of the International Centre for the Prosecution of Russia’s Crime of Aggression
Minister of Justice Ewelina Dobrowolska met with European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, who was on a visit Lithuania. The Minister focused on the issues of legal assistance to Ukraine under aggression and on international response to the crimes committed by Russia.
They discussed international legal instruments that will help ensure justice, prosecution of war crimes, and specific measures to ensure that the proceeds from the frozen assets of Russia and its entities are confiscated and used to compensate the people of Ukraine and to rebuild the country.
Ms Dobrowolska stressed that acts of military aggression against Ukraine remain at the heart of EU policy. The task of all of us – the Member States and the EU institutions – is to work tirelessly to find the tools to help war-ravaged Ukraine as quickly and effectively as possible and to bring the perpetrators of international crimes to justice.
“One of the most important measures that Lithuania actively supports is the establishment of an International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression, which would facilitate the successful investigation and prosecution of such crimes. We hope that the Coordination Centre will start its work soon and we are ready to contribute to its effective operation,” said Ms Dobrowolska.
In this context, in view of the Minister, it is crucial to speak about concrete steps to ensure that the proceeds from the frozen assets of Russia and its entities are confiscated and used to compensate the Ukrainian people and to rebuild the country.
“We welcome the new legal measures proposed by the EU to counter violations of EU restrictive measures, ensure asset freezing and confiscation. The adoption of these legal instruments would allow for more extensive criminalisation of breaches of EU restrictive measures in all EU Member States and would enable more effective detection of such crimes and confiscation of their proceeds,” said Ms Dobrowolska.
The necessity to set up a special tribunal was also emphasised during the meeting. In October 2022, Lithuania and other Baltic States called on the EU and its international partners to establish a special tribunal for the investigation of the crimes of Russian aggression in Ukraine.
According to Ms Dobrowolska, activities of the special tribunal should contribute to the work of national judicial authorities and the International Criminal Court, and Lithuania will actively participate in the consultations of the EU and Ukraine, as well as in other formats to contribute in the search for a model of operation of the special tribunal.
“Lithuania was one of the first to initiate legal assistance measures for Ukraine and will continue as a leading country in the search for international instruments and international law solutions in the face of the military aggression in Ukraine, will support Ukraine in international judicial institutions – the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Human Rights, as well as at the national level,” emphasised Ms Dobrowolska.
The meeting also discussed the latest Rule of Law Report and other justice issues relevant for the international community.
Didier Reynders has been the European Commissioner for Justice since 2019.