Ukraine has ratified the Rome Statute 24 years after signing it, bypassing one of its most important clauses. Find out how Kiev will now interact with the International Criminal Court and what decision allowed the rules of the statute not to apply to Ukrainian citizens

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The Ukrainian parliament has supported the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. We would like to tell you what joining the Rome Statute means for Ukraine.

The Rome Statute is an international treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Statute defines four main international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.

What does ratification give Ukraine?

Ratification will allow:

- participate in the Assembly of States Parties to the International Criminal Court and shape the policy of the ICC;

- to nominate its candidate for the position of judge;

- approve the allocation of the ISS budget to ensure proper investigation of russian offences in Ukraine;

- participate in the election of judges and other elected officials (in particular, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court), and influence the development of amendments to the Rome Statute, which is key for us in protecting our military.

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Ukraine has not ratified the Rome Statute in full

According to MP Iryna Herashchenko, Ukraine ratified the Rome Statute with a separate statement. According to the document, within seven years after entry into force, ‘Ukraine shall not recognise the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over its citizens for the commission of crimes under Article 8 of the Rome Statute’.

‘Given that Ukraine has already now granted the ICJ the right to investigate offences committed on its territory, ICJ prosecutors can already investigate, but there is a norm of deferring other ICJ actions, in particular the serving of warrants and the prosecution of Ukrainian citizens,’ it explains.

In addition, Ukraine intends to join the updated version of the charter of the International Criminal Court. This includes Article 8bis, which appeared as a result of the so-called Kampala amendments in 2010 and provides for liability for the crime of aggression.

However, the ratification is retrospective, i.e. it is not retroactive and does not apply to countries that have not ratified the Kampala Amendments. This also applies to russia, which is not a member of the International Criminal Court.

Therefore, in order to hold the russian leadership responsible for the aggression of 2022, Ukraine will continue to work on the creation of a special tribunal.

And now, in order for the International Criminal Court to consider the crime of aggression, both parties to the conflict must be parties to the Rome Statute. Therefore, russia cannot be held responsible for the crime of aggression and the beginning of the invasion inside the ISS.

The MP argues that such a norm should be cancelled and the court should be allowed to investigate this crime on the same principles as others.

It is important to note that Ukraine signed the Rome Statute back in 2000, but has still not ratified it. To date, 125 states have ratified the Rome Statute of the ICM, including Ukraine.

We remind you! The International Criminal Court (The Hague) has issued an arrest warrant for russian dictator vladimir putin. This is an absolutely big event in the new history, however, what the court's decision means and why not everything is as ‘smooth’ as it seems, we tell you here.

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