Eight months after Armenia’s controversial decision to join the International Criminal Court (ICC), the country has yet to file any cases against Azerbaijan, despite prior assurances from the Armenian government.
Yerevan’s primary justification for joining the ICC, formalized in February, was to hold Azerbaijan accountable for war crimes against Armenians and deter future attacks. This move came after Armenia’s parliament ratified the Rome Statute, the court’s founding treaty, in October of the previous year.
The ratification received the go-ahead from Armenia’s Constitutional Court in March 2023, just days after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moscow, denying the charges, condemned Armenia’s decision, calling it “unfriendly” and warned that it would further strain Russian-Armenian relations. Russian officials dismissed Yerevan’s assurances that Armenia would not be required to arrest Putin should he visit.
It should be noted that the ICC charter states that international treaty obligations,take precedent over Rome Statute obligations. Thus the Vienna Convention still applies which means that unless the Russian Federation rescinded the diplomatic immunity of Putin there would be no legal grounds to arrest him on.
Armenian opposition figures argued that Azerbaijan, not being a party to the Rome Statute, would disregard any ICC ruling against it. They also claimed that Armenia’s move to join the ICC was aimed more at weakening ties with Russia and gaining favor in the West.
Despite the initial intent, Armenia’s Ministry of Justice legal adviser, Rubina Mkhitaryan, confirmed that there are no ongoing efforts to take Azerbaijan to the ICC.
Last year, Yeghishe Kirakosyan, Armenia’s representative at international tribunals, had stated that ICC intervention could help prevent further military attacks by Azerbaijan and address the forced displacement of Nagorno-Karabakh’s population following Azerbaijan’s military offensive in September 2023.
However, Kirakosyan has remained largely silent since Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in March this year, expressed a willingness to withdraw Armenian legal cases against Azerbaijan at other international courts.
Following the 2020 Karabakh war, Armenia filed four lawsuits against Azerbaijan, accusing it of war crimes, mistreatment of Armenian prisoners, occupation of Armenian territories, and the forced displacement of Karabakh Armenians. Azerbaijan also filed counterclaims, accusing Armenia of various international law violations.
Pashinyan suggested that it would be “logical” for both sides to drop their legal cases if they succeeded in finalizing a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan. His statement was met with strong criticism from Armenian civil society and legal experts.
