EU27 justice ministers adopted, on 9 December, conclusions on the fight against impunity regarding crimes committed in connection with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. EU Member States must take swift action to fully implement the definition of international crime as set out in the Rome Statute that created the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to the adopted conclusions. Member States are also called upon to cooperate with the ICC in bringing war crimes to justice.
The EU Council also calls on Ukraine to accede to the Rome Statute. It has still not done so, but it has accepted the jurisdiction of the ICC and is cooperating with its Chief Prosecutor in the investigation of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on Ukrainian territory.
The conclusions do not address the creation of a specialised court to try the crime of aggression in Ukraine, as suggested by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen (see EUROPE 13074/3), and the meeting did not address this issue, according to the Czech Minister of Justice, Pavel Blažek, who chaired the EU Council. “The debate on this issue must continue with the Member states”, the EU Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders told EUROPE.
Asset recovery and confiscation, preserving the rights of all concerned
The EU ministers and representatives of the ministers of justice also came back on the proposal for a directive on asset recovery and confiscation (see EUROPE 12960/6, 13074/3). They stressed the need to safeguard the fair trial rights and procedural safeguards of persons who are not accused of making profits from organised crime or other offences, but who may nevertheless be affected by asset recovery and confiscation orders.
Ministers, by and large, have all called for real safeguards and rights for these people, such as access to files, effective remedy and to be heard. They argued for these safeguards linked to the respect of the Rule of law advocated by the EU, while insisting as well on the need not to destabilise national measures already in place.
The ministers also expressed caution about the possibility of confiscating assets even when there is no conviction. This kind of non-conviction decision should be limited to the most serious offences, such as serious crime or terrorism, with high standards of proof, commented the French Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti.
The directive proposed by the Commission last May aims to speed up the confiscation of property or assets, even in the absence of a conviction, and to avoid having to pay the cost of managing these assets which will fall on their owners.
Member States support rules on confiscation and recovery of assets linked to a criminal offence, including offences that may be linked to the war in Ukraine. They do not, however, support the inclusion of specific rules on tracing and identification of goods in order to detect and prevent criminal offences related to the violation of sanctions. Member States believe that this is not the right instrument to cover these elements.
Link to the note: https://aeur.eu/f/4lp (Original version in French by Léa Marchal and Solenn Paulic)