The Armenian Parliament Ratifies the Rome Statute of the ICC

Armenia recognized the jurisdiction of the ICC on its territory. This court had previously issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Armenian Parliament voted on Tuesday, 3 October, to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. 60 deputies voted in favor, 20 against. Thus, Armenia recognized the jurisdiction of the ICC on its territory. This court had earlier issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Armenia’s representative on international legal issues Yeghisheh Kirakosyan explained the necessity of ratification during the discussion in the parliament by the fact that it will allow prosecuting Azerbaijan’s military in case of committing war crimes on Armenian territory. On 12 September, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan clarified that the ICC recognition “has nothing to do with Armenian-Russian relations.” He recalled that Yerevan had begun ratifying the Rome Statute in December 2022 - before the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin. Nevertheless, the Russian Foreign Ministry called Yerevan’s plans to accede to the Rome Statute “absolutely unacceptable.” In March 2023, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and children’s ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova. According to the court, Putin and Lvova-Belova are “allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of the population (children)” from Ukraine to Russia. The warrant means that countries that have ratified the Rome Statute will have to detain Putin if he visits.