The International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant has become a thorn in the side of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The warrant limits his external visits and could undermine his international standing. The move has been welcomed by some human rights groups, but it is also seen as a reflection of the ongoing tensions between Russia and the West. In this article, we will explore the impact of the ICC’s arrest warrant on Putin’s external visits and what it means for Russia’s relations with the international community.
On March 17, 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued warrants of arrest for two individuals, including Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, in the context of the situation in Ukraine. The ICC is a permanent international criminal court that aims to hold those responsible for their crimes accountable and prevent these crimes from happening again. The court seeks to complement national courts and is the world’s first permanent international criminal court. However, its jurisdiction is valid in countries that have ratified the Rome Statute, with some exceptions like Russia, which initially signed the statute but later revoked its signature.
The ICC has issued a warrant of arrest against Putin, but some experts suggest the likelihood of his detention is quite low, as states do not always execute ICC rulings. The chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, stated that Washington and Brussels have exhausted all possibilities of sanctions and hostile actions against Russia. “They have failed to break the citizens of the Russian Federation and destroy the economy of our country. Washington and Brussels understand that if there is Putin, there is Russia. That is why they try to attack him,” he added.
Nevertheless, any ICC member state is obliged to execute the ruling, and if Putin arrives on their territory, they should arrest him and hand him over to the court, according to legal experts. Moreover, the arrest warrant is a significant event, as no sitting head of state has been accused by the international court before.
The ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and Russia’s Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, stating that they could be responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov noted that Moscow does not recognize the jurisdiction of the ICC, and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the decisions of the ICC had no meaning for Russia, with possible arrest warrants legally void.
The ICC has prosecuted multiple heads of state in the past, including Laurent Gbagbo, Omar al-Bashir, Uhuru Kenyatta, Charles Taylor, and Slobodan Milosevic. Gbagbo was accused of crimes against humanity committed during an armed conflict in Côte d’Ivoire in 2010-2011 but was acquitted eight years later. Kenyatta was accused by the ICC of committing crimes against humanity during the political crisis in Kenya in 2007-2008 but was acquitted due to lack of evidence. Milosevic died in the UN prison in The Hague before being sentenced.
The ICC is an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal located in The Hague, Netherlands. It prosecutes individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. The ICC began operations on July 1, 2002, and has 123 member states, including South American and African countries. The ICC aims to end impunity and achieve international criminal justice to hold responsible those committing serious international crimes accountable.
