The Verkhovna Rada ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
A total of 281 people’s deputies voted for the corresponding draft law No. 0285 on the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and its amendments at the plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada on Wednesday. reported Oleksiy Goncharenko, a member of the European Solidarity faction, sent a telegram on Wednesday.
Ukraine ratified the Rome Statute with declarations on the order of relations with the ICC and for seven years after the Rome Statute entered into force “does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over its citizens for the commission of crimes provided for in Article 8 of the Rome Statute” (war crimes).
The draft law confirms Ukraine’s recognition of the ICC’s jurisdiction over crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes since November 21, 2013, and declares the recognition of the ICC’s jurisdiction over the crime of aggression since July 17, 2018 (the moment of entry into force of the amendments adopted by the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute in Kampala regarding the crime of aggression).
As emphasized in the explanatory note to the draft law, the ratification of the Rome Statute will enable Ukraine to acquire full membership in the International Criminal Court. After the entry into force of the Rome Statute, Ukraine will participate in the work of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute, and will be able to submit candidacies for the election of judges and prosecutors of the ICC. Membership in the Rome Statute will make it possible to contribute to the prevention and deterrence of particularly serious crimes in the future. Ukraine will be able to effectively cooperate with the International Criminal Court, which will contribute to ensuring the punishment of persons guilty of particularly serious crimes that are of concern to the entire international community.
