Against the backdrop of constant pressure from the Kremlin on a number of countries associated with a criminal desire to “nullify” the order of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to arrest Putin for the criminal deportation of Ukrainian children organized by him and his accomplices, in particular to the occupied Crimea, the Association’s expert, Professor Babin, spoke in favor of urgent ratification by Ukraine of the Rome Statute.
The expert notes that in the recent version of the Action Plan for the implementation of the Strategy for De-Occupation and Reintegration of Crimea dated April 4, the Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers, by its order, determined this to be necessary, though until the end of 2024 and writes that there is “a direct opportunity to turn these bitter “normative lemons ”from the Kremlin’s “agrarians” good lemonade”.
After all, the expert adds, such hypothetical actions of the member countries of the Charter raise the issue of a dispute over the judicial functions of the ICC or a dispute over the interpretation or application of the Statute, which is regulated by Article 119 in the document.
According to the article, a dispute regarding the judicial functions of the Court should be resolved by a decision of the ICC, and, as the most likely course of affairs, a dispute regarding the interpretation or application of the Charter should be resolved after negotiations by the Assembly of States Parties, which will either decide itself or refer the dispute to the International Court of Justice.
Absolutely real, the expert says, here will be a decision of the Assembly that is binding on all members of the ICC, which will investigate and condemn the crimes of the Kremlin in the relevant part, or the subsequent consideration of the case by the International Court of Justice with a predictable result.
Therefore, “attempts to evade the implementation of the order of the ICC on Putin can lead to the opposite result – the condemnation of the Kremlin by the International Court of Justice or by the ICC Assembly,” Professor Babin points out, adding that “they, unlike the ICC itself, are by no means bound by procedural restrictions on the crime of aggression.”
But in order to initiate this, the expert adds, Ukraine must ratify the Charter and become a member of the Assembly, pointing out that “I think it is clear to everyone that it is not only absolutely easy to do now, but this process should be started without delay”.
