James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is a really important step. As I understand it, Russia is outside the jurisdiction of the ICC, not being a party to the Rome Statute. I think of historical parallels. I am not sure if the Tánaiste is familiar with the book East West Street by Philippe Sands. It is an excellent work for many reasons. It chronicles the two Jewish lawyers who effectively led the Nuremburg trials and developed the concept of crimes against humanity, which phrase did not exist prior to that. Not only did it characterise from a legal perspective the offences but it also gave the world a concept to focus around and prosecute again. I am also mindful of the Eichmann trial in 1961, when Eichmann was repatriated to Israel and put on trial. The trial ran for many weeks and months. The benefit of that trial was that not only was Eichmann brought to justice but it allowed the survivors and the victims of the Holocaust to tell their stories on public record. That gave the world a document that recorded that for perpetuity. It may have given some closure and some relief to the survivors but it also gave international precedent and an international historic record of what had happened, which may not have been possible without the trial. A question always in these matters is whether it is a case of retrospective retribution or preventative pre-emptive steps. Getting in early can stop the apocalypse before it happens.

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