Eurojust has today hosted a special meeting of EU Ministers of Justice, organised together with the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, to discuss the role of the Agency in coordinating investigations into war crimes, crimes against humanity and other core international crimes allegedly committed in Ukraine.
This coordination will be taken up in close cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Following the meeting with the EU Ministers of Justice, Eurojust President Mr Ladislav Hamran stated:
It has been one month since the start of the war in Ukraine, and European prosecutors have been quick to take action. Several EU Member States have launched national investigations, and the first joint investigation team focusing on war crimes and crimes against humanity is about to be set up with the support of Eurojust. It is our role to coordinate criminal investigations in the European Union and beyond and make sure that we all act in unison.
The desire to make sure justice prevails transcends national and continental borders. Today, we have discussed how we can take responsibility as a global community. Eurojust will act as a bridge between the investigations of EU Member States and the independent and impartial investigation of the ICC. The exercise of universal jurisdiction by the Member States is not an obstacle for the ICC to act; on the contrary, it is a clear sign of our shared determination to ensure that core international crimes will not go unpunished.
The war in Ukraine is a humanitarian, geopolitical and economic disaster of unimaginable proportions, but it has also united us in our humanity and commitment to justice.’
Eurojust has hosted the Genocide Network Secretariat since 2011. The network is a unique knowledge hub in the field of core international crimes and provides a platform for national prosecutors to exchange operational information and share experience and best practices.
In addition to its support of investigations into core international crimes, Eurojust is assisting EU Member States with cross-border judicial cooperation aimed at the confiscation of assets of sanctioned persons and entities. The Agency is participating in the dedicated Freeze & Seize Task Force, coordinated by the European Commission.
