The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the first permanent international criminal court in the world. The court was established by the Rome Statute (1998). The jurisdiction of the ICC includes the investigation of such international crimes as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression.
The ICC is intended to complement, not to replace, national criminal systems; it prosecutes cases only when States do not are unwilling or unable to do so genuinely.
The ICC consists of the Presidency, Judicial Divisions, Office of the Prosecutor and Registry. 18 judges of the ICC are elected by the Assembly of participating states for 9 years. The headquarters of the Court is in The Hague.
There are more than 120 States Parties to the Rome Statute, representing all regions: Africa, the Asia-Pacific region, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as Western Europe and North America.
Ukraine is not a State Party to the Rome Statute, but it has twice exercised its prerogatives to accept the Court's jurisdiction over alleged crimes under the Rome Statute occurring on its territory, pursuant to article 12(3) of the Statute.
On 2 March 2022, the Prosecutor announced he had proceeded to open an investigation into the Situation in Ukraine because of the unprovoked full-fledged Russian aggression against Ukraine based on the referrals received (40 states parties to the Rome Statute referred the Situation in Ukraine to the Office of the Prosecutor).
On 17 March 2023, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II issued warrants of arrest for two individuals in the context of the situation in Ukraine: Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation. Based on the Prosecution’s applications of 22 February 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in prejudice of Ukrainian children.
On 5 March 2024, ICC Pre-Trial Chamber II issued warrants of arrest for two individuals in the context of the situation in Ukraine: Mr Sergei Ivanovich Kobylash, a Lieutenant General in the Russian Armed Forces who at the relevant time was the Commander of the Long-Range Aviation of the Aerospace Force, and Mr Viktor Nikolayevich Sokolov, an Admiral in the Russian Navy, who at the relevant time was the Commander of the Black Sea Fleet. Based on the Prosecution’s applications of 2 February 2024, Pre-Trial Chamber II considered that there are reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears responsibility for the war crime of directing attacks at civilian objects, the war crime of causing excessive incidental harm to civilians or damage to civilian objects, and the crime against humanity of inhumane acts.
Since October 2023 ICC runs its field office in Kyiv.
For more information please visit: https://www.icc-cpi.int/situations/ukraine