Supreme Court Grand Chamber Judge Lev Kyshakevych, who was named Ukraine’s leading candidate for election as a judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC) following a selection process, does not have adequate command of the ICC’s working languages, French and English, according to an ICC document.
A report by the Advisory Committee on Nominations of Judges, published on the ICC website and dated Aug. 5, 2026, states that the Rome Statute requires judicial candidates to have excellent knowledge of the ICC’s working languages, and that Ukraine’s candidate does not speak French and lacks the required level of English to perform the functions of a judge of the court.
"The Committee regrets that the language skills demonstrated by the candidate during the interview did not allow the Committee to properly assess his qualifications and suitability for office under Article 36 of the Rome Statute," the document says.
The committee concluded that the candidate does not meet the qualification requirements for appointment as a judge of the International Criminal Court, according to the report.
According to the ICC, the overall assessment of the candidate’s readiness for the position was therefore incomplete due to the candidate’s language limitations.
"The Committee found that the candidate’s language limitations would hinder the candidate’s ability to make an immediate contribution to the work of the Court," the document says.
Interfax-Ukraine has requested comment on the situation from the Supreme Court.
Ukraine officially became the 125th state party to the ICC’s Rome Statute on Jan. 1, 2025. Under the statute, Ukraine, like every state party, may nominate one candidate to the ICC.
As the Supreme Court reported previously, a selection commission tasked with choosing Ukraine’s candidate for election as an ICC judge named its leading candidate on April 8, 2026, following interviews with contenders held on March 24-26. The candidate selected was Supreme Court Grand Chamber Judge Lev Kyshakevych.
