News - Regular 4-day sessions underway in Armenia parliament, Rome Statute ratification also on agenda

The regular four-day sessions of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia have started. There are 17 matters on the agenda, eight of which were debated on in the second reading and in full. The draft of the ratification of the Rome Statute is also on the agenda. On September 28, this draft was unanimously approved by the NA Standing Committee on State and Legal Affairs. In the NA, the draft on the ratification of the Rome Statute must be approved by a majority vote of the total number of MPs. Earlier, the Constitutional Court of Armenia had ruled that the obligations stipulated in the Rome Statute were in accordance with the Constitution of Armenia. In 2022, the Armenian government had petitioned to the Constitutional Court on this matter. The government has returned to the matter of ratifying the Rome Statute because, according to the rationale of this draft, they see an opportunity to call Azerbaijan to account. The International Criminal Court has issued an international arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, which implies that the countries that have ratified the Rome Statute must arrest Putin if he visits those countries. The Russian foreign ministry has sent a note of protest regarding the Armenian government sending the Rome Statute to the National Assembly for ratification.