On March 17, the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrested President Vladimir Putin and two others on suspicion that Russia invading Ukraine illegally abducted children from occupied territories to its own country as a “war crime”. issued a letter.
This is the first arrest warrant for the Ukrainian war.
The ICC has issued arrest warrants against heads of state for Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir (2008, ‘crimes against humanity’ and ‘war crimes’), Libya’s Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi (2011). , “Crime against humanity”), Putin is the third.
Putin has now become a wanted man in the international community.
In the future, Mr. Putin’s prestige in the international community may be eroded and his isolation may increase.
A large number of civilians were massacred in Bucha, near Kyiv, and elsewhere in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But it takes a lot of testimony to substantiate the president’s instructions.
Therefore, the ICC appears to have filed a “war crime” case against the forced deportation of children, which was clearly ordered by Mr. Putin.
The ICC has international jurisdiction over “genocide”, “crimes against humanity”, “war crimes” and “crimes of aggression” under the Rome Statute (or ICC Convention).
Therefore, in the future, an arrest warrant may also be issued for Mr Putin on charges of “genocide”, “crimes against humanity” or “crimes of aggression”.
On March 17, Chief Prosecutor Khan of the ICC indicated his intention to continue to pursue Russia’s war crimes, stating, “This is a concrete first step. We will continue to issue arrest warrants without hesitation.”
“The crimes appear to have been committed in the occupied territories of Ukraine since at least February 24, 2022. There are reasonable grounds to hold Mr Putin personally criminally responsible for the aforementioned crimes,” the ICC said. .
It also issued an arrest warrant for Russian Presidential Representative Plenipotentiary for Children’s Rights, Maria Lvovabelova.
In January 2023, Putin instructed Lybowaverova to find unaccompanied children in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, according to an ICC statement.
It also signed a presidential decree in May 2022 to simplify the acquisition of Russian citizenship for children in occupied territories and to encourage orphans to be adopted with Russians.
Investigations so far suggest that at least hundreds of children have been abducted from Ukrainian orphanages and other places, many of them put up for adoption in Russia.
Chief Prosecutor Khan said, “These actions demonstrate a willingness to remove the children from Ukraine for good.”
Chief prosecutor Khan, a British national, has experience as a legal advisor to the prosecutor’s office of the International Criminal Court of the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Court of Rwanda, as well as leading a UN team investigating crimes committed by the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq. .
On the other hand, the Putin administration claims that the deportation of children from the occupied territories is to protect war orphans.
Now let’s look at the reaction of each country.
US President Joe Biden told reporters at the White House on March 17 that while the US did not recognize the ICC’s jurisdiction over it, it was “legitimate. It is very persuasive.”
After that, he again criticized Putin, saying, “It is clear that he is committing war crimes.”
On March 18, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said at a joint press conference between the leaders of Japan and Germany that he would “watch the progress of the investigation with great interest.”
Considering that the Japanese government referred the investigation to the ICC on March 9, 2022, I think it would have been better if the ICC had expressed its appreciation for its efforts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on March 17 that the actual number of children abducted by Russia was “well above” 16,000 and accused Mr Putin of responsibility.
“It would have been impossible to carry out such a criminal operation without the determination of the man at the helm of a terrorist state,” he said.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on March 17 that the ICC’s arrest warrant for Putin “has no meaning for Russia, including from a legal point of view.” “Russia is not a party to the ICC Treaty and has no obligations.”
On March 20, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia called the very issue raised by the ICC “outrageous and unacceptable” and that any ICC decision on Russia was “null”. .
By the way, the arrest and extradition of the suspect is essential to the prosecution, as the ICC does not allow a “trial in absentia” in which the suspect is absent.
Putin is therefore unlikely to be prosecuted unless he is ousted.
But if Mr Putin enters the territory of Ukraine or an ICC member state, it will be possible to arrest him and bring him to trial in the ICC.
Investigative cooperation is an obligation of ICC contracting states. As of March 2023, 123 countries are party to the ICC Convention.
In this article, I would like to clarify the actual situation of Russia’s violation of international law in its invasion of Ukraine.
In what follows, I will first discuss the International Criminal Court, then which articles of international law the transfer of children violates, and finally which international law the actions of the Russian military in Ukraine violate.
