Yeghishe Kirakosyan Explains Why the Armenian National Assembly Should Ratify the Rome Statute

Following Azerbaijan's large-scale attacks, the necessity arose to ratify the statute of the International Criminal Court and the draft recognizing the jurisdiction of the court retroactively, more commonly known as the Rome Statute. Yeghishe Kirakosyan, Armenia's representative on international legal issues, stated this in the National Assembly of Armenia.

He recalled that the statute had undergone extensive amendments twice since 1999, and the Rome Statute now defines the responsibility for the gravest international crimes.

Kirakosyan emphasized that this refers to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide. “It will have a significant preventive effect in excluding such crimes on the territory of Armenia. Additionally, considering that Azerbaijani armed forces still remain in the sovereign territory of Armenia, the justification for ratifying the Rome Statute is clear,” he noted.

He added that the discussion of implementing this Rome Statute took place at the Constitutional Court of Armenia on March 24, 2023, and norms that were recognized as unconstitutional in 2004 have been revised.

It is worth mentioning that the Rome Statute is being discussed in the National Assembly of Armenia without the participation of opposition party members. They left the chamber during the first half of the session, with the exception of Gegham Nazaryan.

It should be recalled that Armenia signed the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court on October 1, 1999, but it was not ratified. The process was interrupted on August 13, 2004, when the document was recognized as contrary to the Constitution of Armenia.

Considering that the Constitution has been amended twice since then, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's government decided to resume the ratification process of the international treaty and has once again appealed to the Constitutional Court for this purpose.

On September 13, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the Rome Statute would be ratified with his position and the full support of parliamentary colleagues. He emphasized that it has nothing to do with Armenia-Russia relations.

On September 28, the Permanent Commission on State and Legal Affairs of the National Assembly of Armenia provided a positive conclusion on the draft ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has stated that Armenia's decision to ratify the Rome Statute will have the most negative consequences for bilateral relations.