Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan signed the law adopted by the parliament on ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), according to the relevant information published on the Armenian Presidency's website.
"Khachaturyan has signed a law ratifying the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court signed on July 17, 1998 and accepting the application for retroactive recognition of the ICC jurisdiction," the statement reads.
Armenia's parliament ratified the founding statute of the International Criminal Court on October 3. It will take 60 days for the ratification to come into force.
Rome Statute: what is it?
The Rome Statute outlines the ICC's structure and areas of jurisdiction. The court tries four types of crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, crimes of aggression and war crimes.
This year, the ICC in The Hague has issued an arrest warrant for Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
Mowscow described the Armenian decision to join the ICC as “inappropriate”. The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Yerevan's ratification of the Rome Statute will lead to very negative consequences for bilateral relations.
