On 8 September 2015, during the official visit to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin handed over to the Registrar of the International Criminal Court (ICC) the Declaration of Ukraine accepting the jurisdiction of the Court over crimes against humanity and war crimes.

By this Declaration, Ukraine accepts the jurisdiction of the Court with respect to all crimes committed in the territory of Ukraine since the beginning of the military aggression of the Russian Federation against our country. This Declaration is made for an indefinite duration. The ICC will be able to exercise its jurisdiction over these crimes regardless of the nationality of persons who have committed them, even if they are citizens of the third states.

The ICC is a permanent independent and impartial international institution that exercises the jurisdiction over the most serious international crimes of a widespread or systematic nature.

The ICC examines the situation referred to it, analyzes all circumstances and facts regarding the alleged crimes in terms of their compliance with legal criteria of the Rome Statute and, on this basis, may decide to initiate its own investigation.

Having recognized the jurisdiction of the ICC, Ukraine also undertook to cooperate with the Court without any delay or exception in accordance with Part IX of the Rome Statute, in particular with respect to examination of the situation referred to it, further possible investigation of crimes falling under its jurisdiction and prosecution of these crimes.