The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine voted for the ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The decision was supported by 281 people’s deputies, about what reported People’s Deputy Oleksiy Honcharenko.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi submitted to the parliament a draft law on the ratification of the statute and its amendments on August 15. In addition, another bill was introduced, which provides for changes to the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes of Ukraine in connection with the ratification.
Ratification of the Rome Statute will allow Ukraine to become a full member of the ICC and take an active part in the work of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute. It will also open up an opportunity for effective cooperation with the International Criminal Court in investigating and punishing those guilty of particularly serious crimes of concern to the international community.
What is the Rome Statute?
The Rome Statute is an international treaty on the basis of which the International Criminal Court was founded. The charter was signed by 137 states, including Ukraine, but only 124 countries ratified it.
This treaty defines four main international crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. The ICC gains the power to prosecute individuals for such crimes after member countries ratify the statute, which enables the court to investigate crimes committed on their territories or by their nationals.
