The Current Relation of the ICC and Member State Ukraine
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): Diplomatic Legal Hub
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2026/07/13
By Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Independent Journalist and DLH Coordinator
Ukraine’s Original United Nations Membership
On June 26, 1945, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Ukrainian SSR) and the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics signed the UN Charter, becoming founding participants on June 26, 1945, i.e., original UN Member State status for either. On August 24, 1991, during or after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine declared independence and changed its name at the UN to Ukraine. The extant membership continued without a new admissions procedure. On October 24, 1945, the Charter entered into force.
The Dissolution of the Soviet Union
On December 21, 1991, Ukraine and other former Soviet republics joined the Alma-Ata arrangements to establish the Commonwealth of Independent States, thereby choosing independence. Those who participated supported the Russian Federation’s continuation of the USSR’s UN membership, distinguishing the contemporary former Soviet republics’ independent status at the UN from the continuation of the Soviet legacy as the Russian Federation at the UN. December 26, 1991, the USSR formally ceased to exist; Ukraine remained a UN member in its own right.
The Rome Statute and the International Criminal Court
The Rome Statute is an international treaty. It was created at the International Criminal Court (ICC). It was adopted on July 17, 1998. Entering into force on July 1, 2002, it authorizes the ICC to prosecute individuals for crimes against humanity, the crime of aggression, genocide, and war crimes. Relevant as a body if and only if national courts cannot or will not genuinely act.
Territorial Jurisdiction and Enforcement
A nation must be a party (signatory) to the Rome Statute for the territorial jurisdiction of the ICC to be extended into the Member State territory. The Russian Federation is not a party to the Rome Statute. Ukraine is a party to the Rome Statute. This creates some legal difficulties in international justice efforts for international crimes committed on Ukrainian soil by senior officials of the contemporary Russian Federation. So far, six senior Russian officials have been subject to publicly announced arrest warrants. The core issue regarding the ICC and the crimes of senior Russian officials is not the investigation, as this is among the most documented eras in contemporary history, but whether states parties to the Rome Statute will enforce the Court’s decisions.
Individual Criminal Responsibility
Russia as a Member State is not standing trial before the ICC. Specific Russian officials are being pursued for allegations of individual criminal responsibility against Ukrainians. Historically, the Russian Federation took steps to align with international law and global justice, notably by becoming a signatory to the Rome Statute on September 13, 2000. However, the Russian Federation never ratified it. On November 30, 2016, the Russian Federation formally notified the United Nations of its intention not to become a party to the Rome Statute.
Ukraine’s Acceptance and Ratification of the Rome Statute
Although, in a later period of aligning with international law and justice efforts by the date of becoming a signatory, Ukraine has become far more aligned and consistent with the Rome Statute, mandate, and territorial jurisdiction of the ICC, via accepting ICC jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed on its territory based on a declaration from November 21, 2013, to the present. Ukraine ratified the Rome Statute on October 25, 2024. It entered into force for Ukraine on January 1, 2025.
Jurisdiction Over Russian Nationals
Territorial jurisdiction for the ICC can extend to Russian nationals, including the aforementioned six senior Russian officials, when alleged conduct occurs in Ukraine.
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