Armenia Officially Becomes a Member of the International Criminal Court

Armenia has officially become a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Earlier, the court's press service announced that Armenia will become a full member of the ICC as of February 1, 2024.

“On November 14, 2023, the Republic of Armenia officially submitted its document for ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The statute will enter into force for Armenia on February 1, 2024,” the court's website stated.

The press service also clarified that documents submitted by Armenia to the ICC indicate that the country recognizes the court's jurisdiction retroactively from May 10, 2021.

The International Criminal Court is an international judicial institution with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals responsible for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and armed aggression. The court’s founding document, the Rome Statute, was adopted in 1998 and entered into force in 2002.

Armenia became the 124th state to ratify the document. The jurisdiction of the ICC does not extend to China, Russia, and the United States. Moscow participated in the drafting of the Rome Statute and signed it in 2000, but has not ratified it, and in 2016, it withdrew its signature.

Armenia signed the Rome Statute in the summer of 1998, but in 2004, the Constitutional Court found the obligations set forth in the document to be contrary to the country’s Constitution. The Armenian government again approached the high court regarding the issue of joining the Rome Statute at the end of 2022. A few months later, the Constitutional Court ruled that the provisions of the document do not contradict the Constitution.

On October 13, 2023, Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan signed the law ratifying the Rome Statute. The Armenian government stated that the ratification of the ICC's main document was conditioned by the large-scale aggression of Azerbaijan against Armenia in September 2022, as well as a number of gross crimes committed in Armenian territories. Joining the ICC, Yerevan noted, will provide an opportunity to appeal to this institution to hold Baku accountable.

Russia opposes Armenia's ratification of the Rome Statute. The press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, called Armenia's decision to join the ICC an “extremely hostile” act towards Russia. Yerevan has stated that back in spring, they offered Moscow to sign a bilateral agreement to resolve the issue legally within the framework of the Rome Statute.