Ukraine Becomes International Criminal Court Member State

On Jan. 1, 2025, Ukraine became the 125th state to join the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and, starting that date, will have the same rights as other member states, meaning it will be a full member of the ICC, including the ability to participate in elections, propose amendments, and more.

As reported by a Ukrinform correspondent in The Hague, a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag was installed among the flags of the member states at the court’s building.

“Today, the Rome Statute enters into force for Ukraine...That means that now Ukraine is fully a state party to this international treaty. And as a state party, it has all the rights and obligations that are attached to the states parties. The most important of them, potentially, are the rights to vote for the adoption of the budget, for adoption of amendments to the Rome Statute, for the elections of the judges, and of the future prosecutor and deputy prosecutors, which, to some extent, helps shape the future of international criminal law,” said ICC Spokesperson Fadi El Abdallah in an exclusive comment to Ukrinform.

He expressed hope that Ukraine’s example would inspire other countries.

“We hope that this new ratification will also open the door for others to follow that this is a sign of faith that Ukraine is given to the ICC and that others would see it as such and will also participate in getting us closer to this dream of universality of the Rome Statute, where all the states would be united in this global fight against impunity, and for the fight to build a more just world,” the Spokesperson said.

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In response to a question about a Ukrainian judge at the ICC, Fadi El Abdallah said:

“It is totally possible for Ukraine as a state party to present candidates. And then, there would be subject to the vote of the Assembly. There are specific requirements for judges at the ICC. Specific experience in terms of either international law or criminal law, and of course, being qualified for the highest judicial positions in their own respective countries. And then, also there is every three years election of six judges at the ICC. So of course, we hope that Ukraine will be participating in all the various possibilities of cooperation and supporting the ICC, including with presenting candidates for judges and also with having more colleagues from Ukraine.”

According to the Spokesperson, among the requirements for judges is fluency in at least one of the ICC’s two official languages: English or French. Knowing both languages is an advantage, but it is essential to know at least one of them, as these are the working languages of the ICC.

Fadi El Abdallah noted that it is important to understand that “the ICC does not have cases against the states, but it’s always about individual responsibility for alleged crimes. Now, who can make the accusations or bring the charges against suspects? It’s not the states. It’s actually the ICC prosecutor. What states parties can do is make referrals of a certain conflict or certain amount of crimes to the prosecutor, and then the ICC prosecutor can decide to open an investigation and check which crimes actually fall under the ICC jurisdiction and, based on the evidence that are there, decides to bring charges, meaning to ask the judges to issue either arrest warrants or summons to appear. So, it is for the ICC prosecutor to decide on that. We know very well that there is already an investigation opened in relation to Ukraine, but I just want to highlight that it’s not the states that bring cases, it’s the prosecutor who can decide to do that. But of course, the cooperation of all the states is very important because it allows the prosecutor to gather the evidence in a more efficient and a faster way, of course.”

He also stated that “Ukraine had in the past accepted the ICC jurisdiction. And based on that, there was an investigation that is currently open and it continues. So, within this investigation, the prosecutor has brought several cases and he’s still ongoing with the investigations and maybe other cases and other charges will be brought by the ICC prosecutor. Ukraine ratification does not necessarily mean that we have to open a new investigation.”

According to him, after ratification, Ukraine also has new obligations, such as financial participation in the budget formation. The Spokesperson also clarified that the ICC’s budget is approved by the Assembly of states parties, considering the size of the economy and population of each country.

“The budget of the ICC is adopted by the Assembly, at a whole. So, we have 125 states, with Ukraine that would adopt the budget. The budget is roughly around €190 million, more or less. And the burden of the budget is divided on all the states, but within a certain proportion, because it’s based on the same formula as the United Nations, meaning that it considers the size of the economy and the population of the country,” he said.

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