Draft bill #11538 of September 2, 2024 

Cosponsors: a group of 53 MPs from the factions Servant of the People, Holos, and Batkivshchyna, the Trust group, and independents with Oleksandr Bakumov as the first signatory 

Who is affected: courts, law enforcement agencies, and human rights organizations 

Status: sent for review to the Law Enforcement Committee 

Summary: 

  • the bill defines a list of crimes considered international: 
    • genocide 
    • directing the commission of genocide 
    • public calls for genocide, its justification or denial 
    • crimes against humanity 
    • war crimes 
    • crimes of aggression 
    • propaganda of an act of aggression 
    • failure by a commander (superior) to take measures that could have prevented the commission of international crimes by subordinates 
  • for the commission of an international crime, the following punishments will be applied: 
    • imprisonment for up to 30 years 
    • life imprisonment 
    • confiscation of property as an additional penalty 
  • no amnesty will apply to those who committed international crimes 
  • mentally competent persons who have reached the age of eighteen will be subject to liability for international crimes. 

What is right: the bill implements the Rome Statute into national legislation. Penalties for international crimes are not only a legal but also a political issue. A separate law for such crimes emphasizes their exceptional seriousness and the importance of combating them, which is particularly relevant during the war. 

What is wrong: sanctions for the commission of crimes are not harmonized. According to the Criminal Code of Ukraine, the maximum punishment for a cumulative sentence is up to 25 years imprisonment, whereas the draft bill on international crimes proposes a punishment of up to 30 years. 

Alternative solution: penalties proposed by a special law should be harmonized with the general principles of sentencing established in the CCU. This will ensure the fairness of punishment and consider the special severity of international crimes. 

How to help the legislator: proposals concerning the draft bill can be sent to the Law Enforcement Committee of the Verkhovna Rada. 

Background information: on March 3, 2023, the Cabinet approved an agreement between the government and the International Criminal Court on the opening of the ICC Office in Ukraine.  

On August 24, the President of Ukraine signed a law ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). This is one of the conditions of the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU. It will come into force simultaneously with the law amending the Criminal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure, which is currently under consideration by the Parliamentary Law Enforcement Committee.