Ukraine and Article 124 Rome Statute - a Jurisdictional Dilemma Through the Lens of Selectivity

On the 1st of January 2025, Ukraine finally became a State Party to the International Criminal Court. In a domestic compromise to reassure its military in face of the ongoing war of aggression, the Ukrainian parliament voted to ratify the Rome Statute with a declaration under Article 124. Under this transitional provision - which was formally deleted in 2015 but is still in force - Ukraine seeks to exclude the Court's jurisdiction over war crimes committed by its nationals for a period of seven years. This article investigates, first, whether Ukraine can rely on Article 124, considering that it was slated for deletion, and second, whether it can limit this declaration to its nationals while keeping intact the Court's jurisdiction over Russian war crimes. Apart from purely legal considerations, Ukraine's declaration raises serious normative concerns of group-based selectivity at the Court.