15 years have passed since, through the active participation of a group of people's deputies of Ukraine under the leadership of the chairman of the Committee for Justice, academician S.V. Kivalov, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ratified the Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court. Since then, the International Criminal Court (The Hague) and the National University "Odesa Law Academy" have been productively developing cooperation in various aspects of international activities.
Odesa School of Law has confirmed its high level by being chosen as the venue for the International Seminars "International Criminal Justice in a Turbulent World" and "The Ukrainian Crisis, the Budapest Memorandum and the Role of the United States" with the participation of international experts on security and development, specialists in international criminal law
The first President of the Court, Dr. Philippe Kirsch, is Doctor Honoris Causa of the National University "Odesa Law Academy". The Second President of the Court, Dr. Song Sang-Hyun, was an honorary participant in the International Symposium "From Nuremberg to Rome: International Justice after the Great Victory". The seminars on international criminal law, preparing for the Model of the International Criminal Court were held on the basis of the National University "Odesa Law Academy". The President of the University Academician S.V. Kivalov and our students paid official and study visits to the headquarters of the Court in The Hague.
And today, despite the challenges of the pandemic, our cooperation continues. The newly elected President of the International Criminal Court Piotr Józef Hofmański confirmed the desire to continue the joint training of the young legal elite in the spirit of respect for international law. The ICC leadership is confident that the expansion of fruitful cooperation between the ICC and the legal community of Ukraine can contribute to the active consideration of the ratification of the Rome Statute within the framework of the implementation of the relevant provisions of the Association Agreement and Ukraine's eurointegration processes.