On August 15, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a draft law on the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Points of attention
- Ukraine aims to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to ensure criminal prosecution of serious international crimes by Russia, including genocide, aggression, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
- The draft law submitted by President Zelenskyi aims to align Ukraine's Criminal Code with the Rome Statute's provisions, enabling legal action against Russian actions in Ukraine.
- Misconceptions have surrounded the ratification process, with false impressions leading to delays and concerns about potential legal liabilities for Ukrainian military and leadership.
- Efforts to ratify the Rome Statute are crucial for Ukraine in the context of the international armed conflict with Russia, highlighting the importance of aligning national legislation with international criminal law.
- Ukraine, with plans to ratify the Rome Statute by 2024, seeks to establish a legal framework to punish Russia for its actions in Ukraine, as per the norms of international humanitarian law.
Zelenskiy submitted to the Rada a draft law on the ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC
The corresponding draft law No. 11484 "On Amendments to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes of Ukraine in connection with the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and its amendments" appeared on the website of the Verkhovna Rada.
The explanatory note states that the purpose of the draft law is to bring the provisions of the Criminal Code of Ukraine into compliance with the norms of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
It also aims to ensure criminal prosecution for the most serious international crimes. These include, in particular, the crime of genocide, the crime of aggression, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.
The rationale states that Russia's actions in Ukraine qualify as aggression and an international armed conflict. Therefore, in this case, the norms of international humanitarian law apply, and its violations are war crimes. At the same time, the Russians are committing crimes against humanity. However, the Criminal Code of Ukraine does not provide for criminal liability for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
These gaps are due to the fact that since the adoption of the Criminal Code, its provisions have not been systematically harmonized with modern international law. (...) In the conditions of the international armed conflict with the Russian Federation, bringing the provisions of Ukrainian legislation on criminal liability into compliance with the requirements of international criminal law (in the form of the Rome Statute) is an extremely important issue that needs to be resolved.
The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is an international treaty adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome on July 17, 1998. It entered into force on July 1, 2002. As of September 2019, only 155 states have signed the Rome Statute (Ukraine did so on January 20, 2000), but 122 states have ratified it (Ukraine has not). The statute establishes the scope of activity, jurisdiction and structure of the court.
Ukraine is working on the ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC
Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Iryna Mudra reported that Ukraine has resumed work on the ratification of the Rome Statute and plans to resolve this issue by the end of 2024
I personally support ratification. I know that the Prosecutor General supports it, as well as the relevant parliamentary committee. I think we will do it together. I aim to resolve the issue of ratification by the end of this year.
According to her, the problems with ratification are also related to the fact that in previous years there were not quite correct communication messages that were supposed to justify the expediency of ratifying the Rome Statute.
Therefore, there was actually a false impression about this, which, unfortunately, has taken root in the minds of the military.
The wrong attitude is that, apparently, as soon as Ukraine ratifies the Rome Statute, it will become a basis for bringing the Ukrainian military and leadership to justice in the International Criminal Court. However, Mudra emphasizes that from a legal point of view, this is an incorrect statement.
