Zelenskyy proposes to the Rada to amend the Criminal Code in connection with the ratification of the Rome Statute: what is envisaged

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a draft law aimed at bringing the provisions of the Criminal Code of Ukraine in line with the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and ensuring criminal prosecution for the most serious international crimes. This was reported by UNN with reference to the card of bills №11484 and №0285.

Details

The draft law on ratification provides for the ratification of the statute itself and amendments to it, and Ukraine's recognition of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over crimes against humanity, genocide and war crimes.

Draft law No. 11484 proposes to change the titles of some articles of the Criminal Code. In particular, Article 437 “Planning, Preparation, Unleashing and Waging of an Aggressive War” is to be replaced with “The Crime of Aggression” - planning, preparation or unleashing of an aggressive war or military conflict, as well as participation in a conspiracy aimed at committing such actions, which will be punishable by a more severe penalty - imprisonment for a term of 10 to 15 years (currently 7 to 12 years), as well as for waging an aggressive war or aggressive military actions - imprisonment for a term of 10 to 15 years or life imprisonment (currently 10 to 12 years).

Zelenskyy also proposes to change the title of Article 438, “Violation of the Laws and Customs of War,” to “War Crimes.” The punishment in this article remains unchanged.

In addition, the Criminal Code is supplemented with new articles, including “Crimes against humanity,” i.e., intentional commission as part of a deliberate large-scale or systematic attack on civilians, which is expressed in:

• persecution of any identifiable group or community, i.e. restriction of fundamental human rights on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, sexual or other grounds (characteristics) of discrimination defined by international law as unacceptable;
• deportation of the population, i.e., the forced and in the absence of grounds provided for by international law, the movement (expulsion) of one or more persons from the area in which they legally resided to the territory of another state;
  
• Forced displacement of the population, i.e., the forced and in the absence of grounds provided for by international law, transfer (eviction) of one or more persons from the area in which they legally resided to another area within the same state;
  
• rape, sexual exploitation, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, forced sterilization or any other form of sexual violence;
  
• slavery or human trafficking;
  
• enforced disappearance;
  
• illegal deprivation of liberty;
  
• torture;
  
• other intentional inhuman acts of a similar nature, accompanied by the infliction of great suffering or serious bodily injury or serious harm to mental or physical health.
  

Such criminal violations are punishable by imprisonment for a term of 7 to 15 years.

As noted in the explanatory note, the actions of the aggressor state on the territory of Ukraine qualify as aggression and international armed conflict, and in such a situation, the norms of international humanitarian law apply, serious violations of which are recognized as international crimes, namely war crimes.

In addition to war crimes, other types of international crimes are committed on the territory of Ukraine - crimes against humanity, namely systematic and massive human rights violations by the aggressor state. The provisions of the Criminal Code of Ukraine currently do not provide for criminal liability for crimes against humanity and war crimes, which are violations of customary, not treaty, international humanitarian law. These gaps are due to the fact that since the adoption of the Criminal Code, its provisions have not been systematically harmonized with modern international law

It is also emphasized that bringing the criminal and criminal procedure legislation of Ukraine in line with the Rome Statute will help to update Ukrainian criminal liability legislation in the light of the latest trends in international law, as well as contribute to a more effective implementation of the complementarity principle in terms of a more efficient determination of the jurisdiction of Ukrainian courts and other competent authorities in relation to international crimes.

Recall

The President of Ukraine has submitted to the Verkhovna Rada a draft law on ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC. This will strengthen Ukraine's position in the international arena and allow for more effective prosecution of Russians for their crimes.