Russian ally sides with war crimes court

The ICC statute is in line with Armenia’s constitution, Yerevan’s highest court has said

Armenia can ratify the Rome Statute and become a signatory party to the International Criminal Court, the Constitutional Court in Yerevan ruled on Friday. The decision comes just a week after the ICC announced it would charge Russian President Vladimir Putin with a war crime.

Chief Justice Arman Dilanyan paved the way for parliament to ratify the Rome Statute, ruling that it is not in conflict with the Armenian constitution.

Asked about the ruling, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Yerevan had not clarified its position.

“Not yet,” Peskov said. “We will discuss this with our partners.”

Joining the ICC could obligate Yerevan to arrest Putin if he visits Armenia, which is currently in a military alliance with Moscow. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) also includes Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

Moscow had mediated a ceasefire in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in which Azerbaijan came close to retaking all of the Armenian-majority territory. Russian peacekeepers currently patrol the only road connecting Armenia to the region, while Yerevan and Baku trade accusations about ceasefire violations along their mutual border.

Acting on a referral from a number of NATO countries, the ICC issued a warrant last week for the arrest of Putin and Russia’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova. They were accused of “forcible transfer of population,” in reference to the evacuation of thousands of children from the combat zone in formerly Ukrainian regions that voted last September to join Russia.

The US and its allies refused to recognize the vote and insist those are “occupied” Ukrainian territories. Meanwhile, Kiev’s armed forces have bombarded residential areas in those regions, often with NATO-supplied weapons.

Moscow is not a party to the Rome Statute and has dismissed the ICC warrant as lacking any authority or legitimacy. Russian authorities have also initiated criminal proceedings against the ICC’s head prosecutor and three judges involved with the warrant.

https://www.rt.com/russia/573555-armenia-icc-constitution-court/

Trump-DeSantis 2024? Florida governor fields question about whether he'd serve as Trump's vice president

https://youtu.be/FTVL_AL6-_k

South Carolina’s Comptroller Quits After A $3.5 Billion Accounting Error

South Carolina’s Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom is stepping down next month after making a $3.5 billion “accounting error” in the state’s end of year financial report.

The error was initially unearthed by one of Eckstrom’s staffers, junior accountant Katie Kipp, reports the Post and Courier (P&C). Testimony to a state Senate panel revealed that Kipp discovered the state’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report overstated the general fund balance by nearly 50 percent, reports P&C.

Eckstrom revealed to the Senate Financial Constitutional Subcommittee that for a decade, the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report overstated the money sent to colleges and universities, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Eckstrom blamed the onset of this crisis on a $12 million coding error in 2007 which he says was then compounded by a shift in computing systems beginning in 2011, reports AP. The same report states the sum of the overstated funds reached $1.3 billion by 2017 and has more than tripled since.

State auditor George Kennedy said Eckstrom ignored warnings of a “material weakness” in the comptroller general’s office for a decade, according to AP.

The Subcommittee determined Eckstrom failed to do his primary job, submitting an accurate annual financial report, properly, according to AP.

Though budget makers do not consult the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, bond makers do and it is the primary tool credit agencies use to determine the state’s credit rating. “Our cash position has been misrepresented, creditors, bond holders don’t like things like that.” Democratic State Senator Thomas McKelveen told AP

The fallout of the mismanagement has prompted state legislators to shift the comptroller’s office from an elected position to an appointed one, with some lawmakers suggesting the position be done away with altogether. The Senate subcommittee unanimously advanced an amendment to the state’s constitution that would allow the governor to nominate a candidate for Senate approval. State Treasurer Curtis Lofton, another elected Republican, suggested his office should absorb the responsibilities of the flailing Comptroller’s office, AP reports.

In his resignation letter, obtained by AP, Eckstrom stated “I have never taken service to the state I love or the jobs to which I have been elected lightly, endeavoring to work with my colleagues … to be a strong defender of the taxpayer and a good steward of their hard-earned tax dollars.” Governor Henry McMaster accepted his resignation, effective April 30th, saying “I know that your every wish has been, and always will be, prosperity and happiness for the people of South Carolina.”

Eckstrom had served as the comptroller since he was elected in 2003. He ran unopposed in the last two elections. The state Senate will now select a replacement to finish out the Comptroller’s term which ends in 2027.

https://dailycaller.com/2023/03/24/south-carolinas-comptroller-quits-3-5-billion-accounting-error/