The Rome Statute in Ukraine was ratified by the Verkhovna Rada – what does this mean?

We will note that since we are talking about ratification, this procedure does not require a second reading in the Rada.

According to Zheleznyak, there was a very difficult debate in the parliament during the discussion. In addition, before the vote, people’s representatives received letters of support from the General Staff and the head of the Central Intelligence Agency of the Moscow Region, Kirill Budanov.

Photo: voting results in the session hall to ratify the Rome Statute (t.me/yzheleznyak)

What does this mean for Ukraine and why is it important?

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the international treaty that established the ISS. It determines the operation of the court, and also defines the crimes under its jurisdiction – namely, in particular, the crime of aggression, crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

As the Deputy Head of the Office of the President Irina Mudraya explained, the ratification of the Rome Statute in Ukraine allows it to obtain full membership in the ISS, which allows it to:

• nominate your candidate for the position of judge and prosecutor of the ISS;
• participate in the elections of judges and other elected officials;
• cooperate effectively with the ISS.

The most important thing is that Ukraine ratified the Rome Statute with confirmation under Art. 124 of the Rome Statute, according to which the ISS will not have jurisdiction under Art. 8 (war crimes) against citizens of Ukraine within 7 years after ratification.

In addition, with consolidation it will be possible to bring Russian criminals to justice.

Also, ratification of the Rome Statute was one of Ukraine’s obligations under the Association Agreement with the European Union.

Background information

Let’s remember that Ukraine signed the Rome Statute on January 20, 2000, but did not ratify it, although after signing the Association Agreement with the EU in 2014, the ratification of the This document is one of Ukraine’s direct international obligations.