The Court of Citizens of the World

22/05/2026

Historic judgment by the Court of the Citizens of the World on ecocide and state responsibility

[Milena Sterio is a Distinguished Professor of Law at Cleveland State University and Managing Director of the International Law & Policy Group. Bhavani Fonseka is a human rights defender and t…

01/03/2026

A Further Historic Judgment of the Court of the Citizens of the World

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27/01/2026

The Court of the Citizens of the World will hold its next People’s Tribunal in the form of an Ecocide Tribunal at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski, Berlin, from 16–19 February 2026. The proceedings will be conducted in two distinct but legally connected parts: a civil trial addressing State responsibility under international environmental law, and criminal proceedings examining individual and collective liability for crimes against humanity arising from environmental destruction.

The proceedings will be led by the Tribunal’s Prosecution Team, including Marc Willers (), Elise Groulx Diggs and Marine Yzquierdo.

Part I – Civil Trial: Breach of the Paris Agreement
The Tribunal will examine violations of the Paris Agreement and related international environmental treaties arising from excessive greenhouse gas emissions, large-scale deforestation and the degradation of ecosystems essential for human and planetary survival.

Part II – Criminal Proceedings: Crimes Against Humanity and Ecocide
The Tribunal will consider whether systematic environmental destruction and the persecution of civilian populations constitute crimes against humanity under Article 7 of the Rome Statute, including forced displacement of Indigenous communities through deforestation, climate-induced suffering and death caused by droughts, floods, and extreme heatwaves, toxic pollution and major industrial environmental disasters, and the destruction of Indigenous rights, ancestral lands, and traditional livelihoods. The Tribunal will also examine whether such environmental destruction could constitute ecocide under the international definition proposed for its recognition as a new crime in the Rome Statute.

The full press release is available via the following link:
https://www.the-court.eu/the-ecocide-tribunal-press-release

27/06/2025

Ukraine Tribunal Coming to Life - Two Years After the Blueprint Trial by The Court of the Citizens of the World in The Hague

STRASBOURG – On June 25, a pivotal step in global justice was taken as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset officially signed an agreement in Strasbourg to establish a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine. The tribunal will target Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian leaders for launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

President Zelenskyy said: “Today’s agreement and this tribunal give us a real chance to bring justice for the crime of aggression. Other institutions don’t have the tools to do this. And we need to show clearly: aggression leads to punishment, and we must make it happen together.”

This landmark move builds on a growing global push for accountability, following key milestones:

1.⁠ ⁠February 24, 2023 - The Court of the Citizens of the World was inaugurated by Cinema for Peace, N**i war crimes prosecutor Ben Ferencz, and Nobel Peace laureate and human rights lawyer Oleksandra Matviichuk. It held the first Ukraine tribunal in The Hague on the crime of aggression and put Vladimir Putin on trial.

2.⁠ ⁠March 2023 - The International Criminal Court issued three weeks later an official arrest warrant for Putin over war crimes, marking the first time in history a sitting UN Security Council member’s leader faced such action. Nobel Peace laureate Matviichuk stated: “The Court of the Citizens of the World has motivated international courts to take action.”

3.⁠ ⁠June 25 2025 - Ukraine and the Council of Europe formally establish a Special Tribunal to prosecute senior Russian officials for the crime of aggression, closing a critical legal gap left by the ICC.

The Court of the Citizens of the World held a blueprint trial against Vladimir Putin for the crime of aggression in The Hague in February 2023. In an unprecedented global justice effort, it held the first trial addressing the crime of aggression by Vladimir Putin. The tribunal was presided over by Zak Yacoob former Justice of South Africa’s Constitutional Court, appointed by Nelson Mandela, Stephen J. Rapp former U.S. Ambassador for War Crimes under President Obama and lead prosecutor in the Special Tribunal for Searra Leone, Priya Pillai Leading international justice and human rights lawyer from India, with UN war crimes tribunal experience, and delivered a judgment on February 24, 2023. The Ukraine tribunal was a groundbreaking moment in the fight against impunity for crimes of aggression. The independent, citizen-led Court of the Citizens of the World stepped in where international institutions had failed, holding a sitting head of state accountable for launching an illegal war. In the face of geopolitical paralysis at the UN and the missing mandate of the International Criminal Court to prosecute the crime of aggression, this initiative sent a powerful message: even the most powerful leaders cannot escape responsibility for crimes against peace. By invoking the principles of Nuremberg and the Rome Statute, the tribunal reasserted that justice belongs not just to states or institutions, but to victims and citizens worldwide.

Stephen Rapp told CBS News: “We would need to establish a special court. The establishment of an international tribunal that would include judges around the world that could prosecute Putin and others. And it could include the Belarusian leaders because they've allowed their territory to be used in this invasion.”

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-politics-world-news-europe-bb863513568a9b09a66d6ff1af1e05ef

https://www.reuters.com/world/ukraine-has-convicted-26-war-crimes-suspects-since-invasion-official-2023-02-23/

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hague-peoples-court-seeks-accountability-from-putin-for-crimes-against-ukraine/

Witness Oleksandra Matviichuk testifies in Ukraine Tribunal 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTEaJkkm4_s

20/03/2025

Opening Statement by Nobel Laureate Maria Ressa at the Social Media Tribunal

09/03/2025

The Social Media Tribunal will be held in Berlin commencing on Sunday, 16th March, with a Victims’ Hearing followed by a 5-day Tribunal with a Judgement scheduled for Friday, 21st March.

The Court will address systemic failures by the dominant social media platforms – including Meta, X, TikTok, and Google – that use underlying business models that rely on exploiting users’ biases and weaknesses, enabling polarization and radicalization and the spread of misinformation and divisiveness. The tribunal aims to highlight how the platforms dominate global public communication and discourse without bearing any of the responsibilities of traditional stewards of the public good and should center human rights, accountability, transparency, and corporate social responsibility at their core.

The Court will convene a victims’ hearing on Sunday, 16th March.
• Monday 17th: The Impact of Social Media on Democracy, Citizen Well-Being & Safety
• Tuesday 18th: Amplifying Hate Speech and Extremist Content
• Wednesday 19th: Privacy Violations and Data Exploitation
• Thursday 20th: Cyberbullying and Harmful Challenges
• Friday 21st: X and Musk followed by Final Judgment.

Members of the public and press are invited to attend the proceedings at Adlon Kempinski Berlin. Further inquiries can be made via email at [email protected].

22/11/2024

🌲 Landmark Case: Estonian Court Upholds Forest Protection! ⚖️

Estonia’s Supreme Court has sent a clear message: forests in green networks are not just timber resources but vital ecosystems.After local NGO Päraküla selts MTÜ challenged forest felling permits, the Court upheld their claims, highlighting failures in considering impacts on endangered species and biodiversity. 🦉🌿
📝 The Court’s stance:
Protecting the viability of green networks is essential.
Climate change mitigation remains key, but systemic guidelines for forestry impacts are lacking.
🌳 This case underscores the urgent need to balance economic activity with environmental responsibility.
Image Source: Pixabay

08/11/2024

🚨🌍 Youth Activists Triumph in Landmark Climate Case Against Germany! 🌍🚨

In Neubauer v. Germany , young plaintiffs argued that Germany’s climate targets were insufficient to meet the commitments of the Paris Agreement and protect their right to a livable future. 🌱 They demanded that the government adopt a more ambitious goal of reducing greenhouse gases by 70% by 2030, instead of the current 55%.
The Court agreed, stating that “one generation must not be allowed to consume large portions of the CO2 budget while bearing a relatively minor share of the reduction effort”. As a result, Germany must set stricter targets for post-2030 emissions, marking a crucial step in upholding human rights and climate justice. 🌎⚖️
📣 Do you think other governments should be held accountable for their climate policies in court?

08/08/2024

🕊️ Understanding the Geneva Conventions 🕊️

On August 12, 1949, diplomats from around the world revised and updated the laws for the protection of war victims, creating the four Geneva Conventions comprising 429 articles of law. These conventions ensure humanitarian treatment in war, protecting non-combatants and prisoners of war. Ratified by 196 countries, the Geneva Conventions are the foundation of international humanitarian law.

08/08/2024

CURRENT CONFLICT BETWEEN ISRAEL AND GAZA-
WHAT ARE THE POSSIBILITIES OF APPLYING THE CRIME OF AGGRESSION

CURRENT CONFLICT BETWEEN ISRAEL AND GAZA: WHAT ARE THE POSSIBILITIES OF APPLYING THE CRIME OF AGGRESSION?Dr. Ujala Joshi JubertTenured Professor in Criminal Law at the University of Barcelona, and Deputy judge in the High Court of Catalonia (2005) On July 13, 2024, the Court of the Citizens of the W...