The President signed the law on the ratification of the Rome Statute. What does this mean

On August 24, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, signed draft law No. 0285 on the ratification of the Rome Statute, which was supported by the Council this week.

This is stated in the card of the law.

The Rome Statute is an international treaty that became the basis for the creation of the ICC and defined the list of crimes that the court has the right to investigate: war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and crimes of aggression.

Ukraine has an obligation to ratify the Rome Statute in the Association Agreement with the European Union (this is referred to in Article 8). It is also one of the requirements for Ukraineʼs accession to the EU.

Ukraine has now become a full member of the International Criminal Court, which will make it easier for Ukrainians to access the special Trust Fund of the ICC for victims and increase the chances of receiving compensation for victims of Russian crimes. It will also allow to protect the Ukrainian military. The fact that the statute was ratified does not mean creating a risk of bringing the Ukrainian military and other citizens to justice, because the ICC can already do that — Ukraine recognized its jurisdiction on November 21, 2013.

In addition, Ukraine will be able to defend its interests in the ICC, in particular by working in the Assembly of States participating in the ICC, nominating its candidate for the post of judge and participating in the selection of judges and the courtʼs prosecutor.

Ukraine planned to ratify the statute with a statement that the International Criminal Court would not have jurisdiction under Art. 8 (war crimes) against citizens of Ukraine within 7 years after ratification.

• Ukraine signed the Rome Statute on January 20, 2000, but never ratified it, although after the Association Agreement with the EU in 2014, the ratification of this document is one of Ukraineʼs direct international obligations.
• The Rome Statute regulates the work of the International Criminal Court, which has jurisdiction to prosecute those responsible for the most serious crimes under international law: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. Today, 124 countries are members of the ISS charter.