Prosecution for the most serious international crimes committed in Ukraine during the full-scale military invasion of the aggressor country: jurisdictional aspects
Authors: Smyrnov M. 
Published: June 2023

The conceptual issues, related to the construction of the system of international criminal justice, ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and features of cooperation of Ukraine with the International Criminal Court, are examined in the article.

The main reasons for the delay in Ukraine's ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court are analyzed, and attention is drawn to the inconsistent and contradictory position of Ukraine, which does not use the mechanisms of criminal prosecution for the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression provided for by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Ukraine has signed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and invites the latter to investigate crimes committed by the aggressor country in Ukraine, but does not fulfill its obligations, does not ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and does not recognize its jurisdiction (except for special jurisdiction).

The need to harmonize substantive and procedural law of Ukraine to the provisions of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is emphasized. The prospects, negative and legal consequences of Ukraine's ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in the context of a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine by an aggressor country, as well as European integration processes and the requirements of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the European Union are studied. The thesis is proved that Ukraine's non-ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court may affect the possibility of bringing the aggressor country to justice, despite the fact that Ukraine used a special procedure of recognizing the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

The main aspects of the activity and jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court were considered. Attention is drawn to the fact that Ukraine's relations with the International Criminal Court are based on the principle of complementarity of jurisdictions. The essence, significance and advantages of Ukraine's cooperation with the International Criminal Court, as well as the possibility of bringing the aggressor country to justice for the crime of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression, have been studied. Based on the results of such a study, it was concluded that the recognition of the jurisdiction of the ICC (not only the special jurisdiction due to Clause 3 of Article 12 of the Rome Statute) for Ukraine is a priority and indispensable component of its European path of development and a real opportunity at the international level to prosecute top officials of the aggressor country for crimes committed in Ukraine.

The ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court provides additional opportunities for the national judiciary, will lead to the strengthening of the rule of law and, thanks to access to the International Criminal Court, will allow the aggressor country to be held accountable for crimes committed during a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine.