Tajikistan may terminate its participation in the International Criminal Court

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Tajikistan is studying the possibility of terminating the Statute of the International Criminal Court for the country.

The corresponding draft resolution was considered by the Council of the lower house of the republic's parliament at an extraordinary meeting on September 16.

Following the discussion of the draft "On the termination of the Statute of the International Criminal Court," relevant decisions were made, but the parliament did not specify what exactly was decided and whether this means a final decision on Tajikistan's withdrawal from the treaty.

Tajikistan signed the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court, on November 30, 1998, and ratified it on May 5, 2000. For the country, the document entered into force on July 1, 2002.

The ICC considers cases of the most serious international crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The Rome Statute provides for the possibility of a state party's withdrawal: to do this, a written notification is sent to the UN Secretary-General, and the termination of the statute for the country takes effect one year after the receipt of such notification, unless the state specifies a later date.

At the same time, the mere fact of the draft being considered by the parliament does not yet mean that Tajikistan has already withdrawn from the ICC. The Tajik side has not yet announced further steps and the timeframe for the termination of the statute.