On August 21, 2024, the Verkhovna Rada approved the draft law “On Ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and Amendments thereto,” which Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy introduced this month. Ratification of the Statute is one of Ukraine’s obligations in the process of European integration.

The Rome Statute is an international treaty that regulates the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC has the right to prosecute those responsible for the most severe international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression. An amendment to the statute to add a fifth international crime, ecocide, is also being discussed. Investigating these types of crimes is critical to restoring justice in the process of de-occupying Crimea.

Ukraine has already recognized the jurisdiction of the ICC when it used the mechanism contained in Article 12(3) of the Rome Statute – recognition of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court by a state that has not ratified the Rome Statute.

Specifically, Ukraine made two such statements:

1. On the recognition of the jurisdiction of the ICC over the possible commission of crimes against humanity during the Maidan from November 21, 2013, to February 22, 2014.
2. Acceptance of the ICC’s jurisdiction over possible crimes against humanity and war crimes committed throughout Ukraine (including Crimea and Donbas, of course) from February 20, 2014, to the present (without a final date).

Despite this, there is a significant limitation: The ICC can only consider crimes of aggression if both parties to the conflict are parties to the Rome Statute. This fact creates an obstacle to prosecuting Russia, which has not ratified the statute, for crimes against Ukraine. In 2024, the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute is expected to consider changing this rule.

Ratification of the Rome Statute will allow Ukraine to

• more actively involve the ICC in the investigation and prosecution of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed on its territory, in particular in the context of the war with Russia. This will increase the level of international control over war crimes and contribute to the restoration of justice.
• harmonize Ukrainian legislation with international law, increasing its effectiveness in combating the most severe crimes. It will also stimulate the development of the legal system in Ukraine according to global standards.
• be able to more effectively protect the rights of its citizens who have suffered from war crimes, both at the national and international levels. The ICC will become an additional mechanism for bringing those responsible for human rights violations to justice.
• demonstrate its willingness to comply with international legal norms, increasing its global credibility and strengthening its position on the world stage.
• more actively use ICC decisions to impose sanctions on those responsible for crimes against Ukraine. This may include arresting and prosecuting individuals on the International Criminal Court’s wanted list.

For Ukraine, ratification of the Rome Statute is an essential step in ensuring justice, as it will allow the ICC to investigate and prosecute those responsible for crimes committed during the aggression against Ukraine.

Such crimes include the forced conscription of Crimean residents into the Russian armed forces, displacement of civilians, enforced disappearances of Crimean Tatars, unlawful arrests, and ill-treatment of the population. All these crimes must be thoroughly investigated to ensure justice and punishment for those responsible.