The Armenian government sent the Rome Statute of the ICC to Parliament for ratification

The Armenian government has submitted the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to parliament for consideration of the issue of ratification, the press service of the Cabinet reported. writes TASS.

Armenia signed the treaty in 1998 but has not ratified it. In 2004, the Constitutional Court of the Republic recognized the obligations of the treaty as contradicting a number of provisions of the 1995 constitution. The Armenian government applied to the Constitutional Court of the country to retroactively recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC from May 2021 back in December 2022 – according to the Armenian authorities, this will allow calling on Azerbaijan to “I will answer for war crimes.”

On March 24, the Constitutional Court of Armenia decided that the obligations set out in the Rome Statute are in line with the fundamental law of the country. The Russian Foreign Ministry considered “absolutely unacceptable” Yerevan’s plans to join the Rome Statute against the backdrop of the position of this organization in relation to Russia.

At the same time, in early April, Vice Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Hakob Arshakyan stated that Armenia and Russia could sign an agreement according to which the Rome Statute, which the republic intends to ratify, will not affect the relations between the two countries. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova pointed outthat despite the continued discussion of the topic of ratification, the ministry hopes for a settlement “in an allied and mutually acceptable manner.”