At a public hearing of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), Margarita Šniutytė-Daugėlienė, Vice-President of Eurojust, and Myroslava Krasnoborova, Liaison Prosecutor for Ukraine, presented, on Wednesday 26 April, the work of the agency in supporting international accountability efforts.
In the context of the implementation of Eurojust’s new mandate to support war crimes investigations in Ukraine, the aim was to take stock of ongoing work, including the International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression (ICPA), which is expected in June.
The Joint Investigation Team. During her intervention, Ms Šniutytė-Daugėlienė provided details of the evidence gathering effort within the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) (see EUROPE 13109/2).
One of the major challenges for the JIT is the existence of evidence collected by many stakeholders, in different countries, under different jurisdictions. To address this, the Eurojust database is based on three pillars, as stated by the Vice-President of Eurojust: transmission, storage and advanced analysis.
According to Šniutytė-Daugėlienė, Eurojust’s methodology allows for “not only individual offences, but also systematic actions”, which “is fundamental to prove the crime of genocide from a legal point of view”. In addition, the rapid identification practised by the JIT allows for a more “efficient use of resources and reduces the risk of error”.
Also, the implementation of interviews with victims and the use of videos in this case help to avoid “revictimisation”. Finally, storage away from the location of the conflict can prevent the loss of evidence.
The International Centre for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression. In the framework of the JIT, the ICPA was established in March this year (see EUROPE 13135/12) to try the instigators - including the most senior officials - of the Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Ms Krasnoborova, Liaison Prosecutor for Ukraine at Eurojust, announced the finalised preparation of ICPA for June, with a view to a full launch by the end of the year.
While prosecutors from JIT states could gather in The Hague, “on a permanent or semi-permanent basis”, starting the beginning of the second half of 2023, the aim would also be to extend collaboration to prosecutors from non-JIT and non-EU states. The United States has already seconded one of its prosecutors for this purpose.
The dialogue groups, launched in March, are expected to focus on four main areas: assistance to Ukraine, action by regional or international organisations, international investigation and documentation by civil society.
“At present, Eurojust, the Commission and the Dutch authorities are working out the details (...)”, said Ms Krasnoborova. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)