Declaration under Article 124 of the Rome Statute: what could it mean for Ukraine?
In 2024, Ukraine’s long journey towards ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (hereinafter – the ICC) was completed. Although the Statute was signed back in 20001, a number of reasons – ranging from the stated need to amend the Constitution of Ukraine to the dissemination of myths about the Court’s functioning – led to a pause of 24 years before its ratification and Ukraine becoming a State Party.
However, ratification was not without reservations. When adopting the relevant law, Ukraine exercised its right to make a declaration under Article 124 of the Rome Statute of the ICC, a transitional provision that provides for the non-acceptance by a State for which the Rome Statute enters into force of the ICC’s jurisdiction regarding alleged war crimes committed on its territory or by its nationals for a period of seven years. Ukraine chose one of the “or’s” – nonacceptance of jurisdiction regarding its own nationals. State representatives explain this step as a “compromise with the military” due to “the widespread disinformation about the Rome Statute”.
This analytical note is an attempt to examine the potential risks of Ukraine making a declaration under Article 124 based on the analysis of the declarations of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on the acceptance of the ICC’s jurisdiction, the text and preparatory materials for the drafting of the Rome Statute of the ICC, the positions of international and Ukrainian experts on the interpretation of the relevant provisions of the Rome Statute, as well as the Law of Ukraine “On Ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and Amendments thereto”.
This material has been supported by UK International Development from the UK Government; the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the official position of the UK Government.
