The representative of Ukraine at the UN International Court of Justice, Anton Korynevych, stated that Ukraine should ratify the Rome Statute, because then the country would get opportunities at the International Criminal Court, which it does not currently have.
Korynevich told about this in an interview with Babel.
"As an international lawyer, I am a long-time fan of the ICC and believe that the ratification of the Rome Statute would be good. But at the same time, even now, while it is gone, the International Criminal Court is already investigating Russiaʼs actions in Ukraine. After the investigation, it can issue an arrest warrant for three types of crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. In fact, the ISS has everything to work effectively with regard to the situation in Ukraine. However, the ratification of the Rome Statute would allow us, for example, to participate in the elections of the prosecutor, we could have our own judge, put issues on the agenda of the Assembly of the participating states. Ratification of the Rome Statute would provide opportunities that currently do not exist," explained Korynevych.
In addition, there are still no "crimes against humanity" in the Ukrainian Criminal Code — in May 2021, the Verkhovna Rada voted on amendments to the Criminal Code, which introduced crimes against humanity, clearly described war crimes, canceled the statute of limitations for these crimes, etc. However, the president neither signs this law nor vetoes it.
- Ukraine signed the Rome Statute on January 20, 2000, but still has not ratified it.
- The International Criminal Court started working in 2002. It is based on the Rome Statute, which defines the procedure of the court, as well as what crimes it considers: genocide, crimes against humanity (rape, torture, deportation), war crimes (murder of civilians, destruction of civilian property, attacks on doctors, etc.) and crimes of aggression (invasion or attack on an independent country, occupation of some of its territory, etc.).