The International Criminal Court prosecutes genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Ukraine has now joined the institution, albeit with a seven-year exemption for its military.
Ukraine has joined the International Criminal Court (ICC). The parliament in Kiev voted 281 to ratify the so-called Rome Statute of the Criminal Court. There was one vote against and 22 abstentions. Ukraine had already signed the Rome Statute in January 2000, but has not yet ratified it. The reason is probably the hope that Russia will be punished for alleged war crimes on Ukrainian territory.
However, the document now adopted stipulates that Ukraine will not recognize the jurisdiction of the criminal court for war crimes when it comes to Ukrainian citizens for seven years. The background to this is the army's fears that its actions in the fight against Russian forces could in some cases be charged as war crimes.
Kuleba: “Historic decision”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba spoke of a “historic decision” in the online service X. “Ukraine has already worked effectively with the ICC to ensure full accountability for all Russian atrocities committed in the course of Russian aggression,” Kuleba explained. “This work will now work even more effectively,” the Foreign Minister assured. With the decision, his country has also taken “a significant step towards EU accession.”
The European Union has repeatedly urged Kiev to take this step, but it is controversial in Ukraine. Military representatives fear that the criminal court could also prosecute Ukrainian soldiers for alleged crimes during the war against Russia.
Berlin welcomes step
The Foreign Office in Berlin welcomed Ukraine as the 125th member state of the ICC. “Russia's war against Ukraine is also a brutal attack on international law,” the Foreign Office explained in the online service X. “The ratification of the Rome Statute by Ukraine is an important signal that strengthens international law and the ICC.”
ICC arrest warrant against Putin
The court, based in The Hague, has been prosecuting particularly serious offenses such as war crimes since 2002. It can issue arrest warrants that are valid in all 125 signatory states to the Rome Statute. The ICC began investigations immediately after the start of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022.
In March 2023, judges issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on suspicion of war crimes in Ukraine. The Kremlin chief is therefore at risk of arrest in ICC member states. Russia, like the USA, does not recognize the ICC.
