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A group of 90 Ukrainian judges will undergo UK-provided training to conduct war crimes trials for Russian soldiers.
The first group of judges attended sessions at a secret location in the region last week, and more will follow in the coming months, as part of a £2.5m investment.
In her first broadcast interview as Attorney General, Victoria Prentice told Sky News that she would ensure that perpetrators of atrocities – on an unprecedented scale – could be prosecuted as long as the conflict continued.
Most war crimes trials in the country are expected to be conducted by Ukrainian judges.
So far, 14 Russian soldiers have been convictedWith the first trial conducted in May.
But a huge caseload of over 43,000 registered crimes has already been registered.
“They are prosecuting war crimes in real time”, Ms Prentice said. “This is a lively and very brutal conflict.
“Ukraine We know that managing all the difficulties that are going on in the country at the moment, with things like organizing powers and courts, to try war crimes.
“This is very important, obviously because justice is important, but I hope that those Russian soldiers and officials who are watching the Ukrainian actions at the moment will realize that they must act according to international law.
“These 90 judges will go back after really intensive training, to be able to run those courts better.”
UK Attorney General Victoria Prentice
Russia’s ‘Nuremberg’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenky And his wife Olena, who visited the UK this month, has been advocating for the establishment of a special tribunal for Ukraine, which he has compared to the Nuremberg trials for the Russian leadership.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague has already begun investigating the Ukraine war – but Zelensky says a special tribunal could try a wider range of crimes alongside it.
This has not been explicitly endorsed by the UK government, but Ms Prentice said all options were being considered in discussions with Ukrainian authorities.
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“I am sure that most of these war crimes will be tried by Ukrainian judges in Ukraine, where there are witnesses and evidence,” she said.
“But I’m also sure that the international community will want a moment where justice is done, and seen to be done. We don’t know exactly what form that will take yet. All options are on the table.”
In her long career as a public prosecutor before entering politics, Ms Prentice said: “I don’t think we ever predicted that we would again have war crimes in Europe and that we would have to start talking about Nuremberg-style trials.”
The training of judges is run by British judge Sir Howard Morrison, who served at the International Criminal Court and the International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
Sir Howard Morrison says senior Russians being tried ‘cannot be ruled out’
He spoke to Sky News on his return from the region after the first three-day session.
Sky News teams have seen the work of mobile justice teams in the country, such as in Makariv outside Kiev, where officials say 130 bodies were found in April.
Sir Howard said: “War crimes bring an extra dimension, especially when you have mass graves.
“I’ve spent 25 years looking into mass graves, literally or metaphorically, and believe me that’s a very different exercise than a body or a victim.
“They [judges] It is very aware of the need to conduct these trials according to internationally recognized standards.”
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Sir Howard was a judge at the trial of former Bosnian leader Radovan Karadzic and said he hoped senior Russian leaders would eventually be put on trial – but it would take time and commitment.
He said: “I was told when I was in ICT [tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]That we would never try Milosevic, Karadzic or Mladic, and we tried all three.
“So you don’t know how the political winds will change direction in the future. It may be a long, slow process, but you can’t completely rule out that Russians, senior Russians, in politics or in the military may come one day before the international tribunal. “
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