The Minister of Justice meets the Irish Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration – focus on the EU Presidency and political mobilisation for the establishment of the Special Tribunal
The Minister of Justice Rimantas Mockus is on a working visit to Ireland today, where he met with the Irish Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Jim O'Callaghan.
The meeting discussed the priorities of the Lithuanian Presidency of the Council of the European Union.
According to the Minister, as Lithuania takes over the Presidency of the Council of the EU from Ireland, which will hold the Presidency from July to December 2026, it will be important to ensure the continuity of activities and the clarification of priorities.
Rimantas Mockus noted that, during the Lithuanian Presidency, the issues of restoring justice and ensuring the accountability for war crimes will be among the most important in the context of support for Ukraine.
During the meeting, the Ministers also discussed the progress on the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.
As far as the ensuring of the liability of russia is concerned, Minister Mockus noted that Lithuania and Ireland are part of a group of countries actively seeking to assist Ukraine in establishing the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression.
According to Rimantas Mockus, the Core Group on the establishment of the Special Tribunal for the crime of russian aggression against Ukraine, consisting of legal experts from 38 states, has reached a common compromise agreement on the documents for the establishment of the Tribunal and now it is important for the states to take immediate political decisions.
The Ministers agreed to pay particular attention to this issue and to make every effort to implement the political decisions for the establishment of the Special Tribunal as speedily as possible.
In order to establish the Special Tribunal, Ukraine will have to apply to the Council of Europe for the conclusion of the Special Tribunal Agreement. Other states, including Lithuania and Ireland, will be able to accede to the Agreement through an Enlarged Partial Agreement.
The Special Tribunal would fill the existing legal gaps and help bring the top russian officials to justice.
During his visit to Ireland, the Minister of Justice Rimantas Mockus also met with Lithuania's Ambassador to Ireland Jonas Grinevičius, visited Irish imprisonment institutions, was interested in the progress of digitisation of processes, rehabilitation instruments for inmates, motivational measures to change behaviour, organisation of employment for inmates, conditions of conditional release, and possibilities for NGO involvement.
Last updated: 04-04-2025