Georgia ratifies Amendments to Article 8 of the Rome Statute on war crimes

​The President of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, H.E. Mr. Sidiki Kaba, welcomed the deposit by Georgia, on 3 November 2015, of the instrument of ratification of the amendments to the Rome Statute on war crimes. Georgia thus becomes the twenty-sixth State to have ratified the amendments on war crimes.  

"I welcome the ratification by the Republic of Georgia of the Kampala amendments related to war crimes. The criminalization of the use of certain weapons in situations of internal armed conflicts enhances international law and international humanitarian law and protects potential victims from heinous crimes. I call an all States Parties to promptly ratify the amendments to the Rome Statute", said Minister Sidiki Kaba.

The first Review Conference of the Rome Statute, held in 2010 in Kampala (Uganda), adopted, inter alia, a set of amendments to article 8 that defined as war crimes the use of certain weapons during armed conflicts not of an international character.

Georgia ratified the Rome Statute on 5 September 2003. It also acceded to the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the Court ("APIC") on 10 March 2010, and ratified the amendments to the Rome Statute adopted at the 2010 Review Conference relating to the crime of aggression, on 5 December 2014. On 14 August 2003, Georgia enacted legislation that incorporates domestically the definitions of crimes contained in the Rome Statute and measures on cooperation with the International Criminal Court.