Ukraine's parliament ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Aug. 21, lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak said, APA reports citing The Kyiv Independent.
The ratification was supported by 281 lawmakers, with one voting against. President Volodymyr Zelensky submitted a package of bills on the ratification of the statute earlier in August.
Ukraine signed the Rome Statute in 2000 but has not ratified it since then. In 2015, Ukraine emphasized the ultimate necessity of ratification through a decision made by the National Security and Defense Council.
Following the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, authorities considered ratifying the Rome Statute, but only after the end of the war.
The Ukrainian government has not yet commented on how the ratification will be applied. At the same time, Ukraine has already allowed the ICC to investigate crimes committed in its territory, which de facto recognizes the body's jurisdiction.
The Rome Statute is the first international criminal law that recognizes forms of sexual violence like rape, sexual slavery, and enforced sterilization as distinct war crimes.
The document has been ratified by 124 states. Russia signed the statute — as did the U.S. — but later withdrew its signature.
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