The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported changes to the Criminal Code, bringing it into line with the provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. About this reported people’s deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak in his Telegram channel.
On October 9, the Council in the second reading adopted draft law No. 11484, which amends the criminal legislation in connection with the ratification of the Rome Statute. The bill was supported by 228 people’s deputies.
Previously, Ukrainian legislation did not provide for criminal liability for crimes against humanity and war crimes. However, after the ratification of the Rome Statute and the adoption of the relevant changes, Ukraine undertakes to prosecute such crimes. The new law also increases liability for the crime of aggression, increasing possible penalties to life imprisonment.
In addition, the document introduces the concept of command responsibility, according to which commanders will be responsible for the war crimes of their subordinates, even if they did not personally participate in the commission of these crimes, but knew about them and did not prevent them.
The Rome Statute, on the basis of which these changes are being made, is the international treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC). It defines the court’s jurisdiction over crimes of aggression, genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Ukraine officially ratified the Rome Statute this year, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyi signed the corresponding law on August 24. This step paves the way for full membership of Ukraine in the International Criminal Court.
