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ICC report was not that great a victory

Stavniychuk for full ratification of the Rome Statute.

Former member of the Venice Commission Maryna Stavniychuk says she does not believe the report of the International Criminal Court's prosecutor in the case "The Situation in Ukraine" was a great victory.

During a roundtable conference in Gorshenin Institute on 22 November the jurist said that Ukraine's non-ratification of the Rome Statute may create certain legal obstacles in drawing perpetrators to justice in the ICC.

"To date, we have on two occasion applied in a manner of ad hoc of the Rome Statute, and the ICC accepted the Verkhovna Rada declarations regarding the crimes at hand. However, there are procedural restrictions, which relate primarily to the absence of specific mechanisms. That is, in case need arises to extradite certain persons, there may be problems of non-extradition or appeal procedures," said Stavniychuk

"Our criminal law has not been brought in line with the Rome Statute, and hence I cannot see a great victory here. For Ukraine, it would be much more appropriate to amend the provisions of the Article 124 in the Constitution to envisage immediate acceding to the Rome Statute. [Currently] the wording of this article does not provide for full accession so Ukraine's appeal in a manner of ad hoc could be a problem. Although considering the conditions the Ukrainian authorities found themselves in, it is a tool as well," she added.

On 14 November, the ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said in a report that the situation in Crimea amounts to an international armed conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

The International Criminal Court deals with crimes that are particularly grave from the point of view of the international community: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression against the countries that are parties to the ICC.

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