Ukraine becomes party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court

Ukraine has officially become the 125th state party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Jan. 1.

A Ukrainian flag was set up among the flags of other state parties at the ICC in the Hague, Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform reported on Jan. 1.

"This means that it (Ukraine) is now a full-fledged state party to this international treaty and has all the rights and obligations assigned to state parties," ICC spokesperson Fadi el-Abdallah told Ukrinform.

The Ukrainian parliament ratified the Roman Statute in August 2024, 24 years since Kyiv first signed it. Ratification is a necessary step for an international agreement to hold sway over a sovereign country’s actions and citizens in specified areas.

The Roman Statute is the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court, granting it jurisdiction over four crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.

Ukraine ratified the statute with a caveat that it would not recognize the court's jurisdiction over Ukrainian citizens in the case of war crimes for seven years following its official adoption.

With Ukraine joining, 125 states have ratified the statute. Russia and the U.S. signed the treaty but later withdrew their signatures.

As a member of the ICC from 2025, Ukraine will have all the rights and obligations assigned to state parties.

“The most important of these is the right to vote when approving the budget, adopting changes and amendments to the Rome Statute, and selecting judges, the future prosecutor and his deputies, which to some extent helps shape the future of international criminal law,” ICC spokesperson told Ukrinform.

In March 2023, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova for the forced deportations of at least tens of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia and Russian-occupied territories.

The ICC also issued arrest warrants for Sergei Shoigu, secretary of Russia's Security Council who formerly served as defense minister, and Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian army, for war crimes against Ukraine.

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The Kyiv IndependentBoldizsar Gyori