Australian Foreign Ministry proposes creating MH17 tribunal outside the UN to circumvent Russia's veto power
The Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs, Julie Bishop believes that another International Tribunal in the style of Lockerbie should try those guilty in the case of the crash of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine. It would bypass the United Nations Security Council where Russia has the veto rights, Deutsche Welle reported.
“The judicial process in the style of Lockerbie—the Tribunal that will be established by the international community can be organized,” Bishop noted. “It would probably be easier to create such a Tribunal in the Netherlands. However, we need to ensure that it will be granted all the necessary powers,” he added.
The first results of the investigation of the MH17 crash were made public on the 28th of September. The investigators concluded that the passenger plane was shot down in the Donbas by a surface-to-air missile, launched from a Buk missile system from the area controlled by pro-Russian militants. The Buk missile system was brought to the Donbas from Russia.
It was reported that at least 100 people can press charges based on the investigation. However, the investigators refused to give their surnames, claiming that the purpose of investigation at this stage was to determine the missile’s trajectory and its launch site.
The Lockerbie case was the name given to the investigation of a Pan American air crash over the Scottish town of Lockerbie in December, 1988. The crash resulted in the death of 270 people, mainly U.S. citizens. The investigation found that citizens of Libya, headed then by Muammar Gadaffi, were responsible for that terrorist act.
Only in 1999, after long negotiations did Gadaffi agree to extradite suspects under the condition that trial would take place in a neutral territory. In April 1999, suspects were transferred to Scottish police. In 2001, the court sentenced the defendants.