ArmInfo. Armenia is not alone in the issue of investigations of war crimes, and has the opportunity to involve international prosecutors and representatives of law enforcement agencies in this work, Armenia's Minister of Justice Grigor Minasyan told reporters on January 8 as he commented on the need to apply the Roman Statute in investigating international crimes.
According to the minister, after the ratification of the Roman Statute by the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia, there are still numerous legal normative acts that need to be adopted or amended to existing laws. In this context, the experience of various states was studied, in particular, the legislation of Georgia and the best practices of four states. The first step that needs to be taken in this direction concerns the need to develop a new law. "Our investigative bodies, studying international experience, have the opportunity to involve international prosecutors and law enforcement officers in this process, who, by studying these cases in Armenia, become part of all proceedings related to war crimes," Minasyan said.
At its meeting on October 3, the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia ratified the Roman Statute of the International Criminal Court. According to Armenia's representative for international legal affairs, Yeghishe Kirakosyan, the ICC mainly considers crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression. The Court may exercise its functions and powers, as provided in this Statute, in the territory of any State Party and, by special agreement, in the territory of any other State. Kirakosyan noted that ratification of this document will make it possible to initiate proceedings at the ICC against Azerbaijan for war crimes committed in Artsakh, where the forced deportation of the population actually took place, as well as for aggression against Armenia. Without this document, Armenia had practically no mechanisms to hold Baku accountable.
On March 17 of this year, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the Armenian side notes that the ratification of the document is not directed against Russia. Later, a source in the Russian Foreign Ministry reported that the Russian side warned their Armenian colleagues about the extremely negative consequences of possible accession to the Roman Statute for relations with Russia. The Foreign Ministry also added that Moscow considers Yerevan's plans to join the Roman Statute of the ICC unacceptable against the backdrop of warrants against the leadership of the Russian Federation.