In this episode of Called to the Bar: International Law Over Drinks, Dr Juliette McIntyre is joined by Mykola Yurlov (Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and Mark Ellis (International Bar Association) to unpack one of the most ambitious current projects in international criminal law: the proposed Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine.

Blending personal insight with institutional perspective, the conversation traces the rapid emergence of the tribunal idea following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, and the legal gap it seeks to fill. While the International Criminal Court remains central to global accountability efforts, its jurisdictional limits over aggression have prompted states and legal practitioners to explore alternative mechanisms—reviving, in many respects, a form of accountability not seen since Nuremberg.

The discussion explores how the tribunal is being constructed in practice: from the role of the Council of Europe and the “core group” of states, to difficult negotiations over immunities, jurisdiction, and the possibility of trials in absentia. The episode also addresses institutional tensions, including early resistance from within the ICC system, and the broader political sensitivities of targeting senior state leadership.

Recommendations:

"An Anxious Generation": https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-anxious-generation-9781802063271

"UN Charter - 5 Pillars": https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-94866-4

Music: Sam Barsh, Oils of au lait