ICC Issues Arrest Warrant for Putin: De-Normalizes Relationship With 123 State Parties
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of responsibility for the war crime of illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. The court found reasonable grounds that Putin bears responsibility for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others, and/or through others, and for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission, and who were under his effective authority and control, pursuant to superior responsibility.[0]
The court has charged Putin over Russia’s treatment of Ukrainian children under two articles of the Rome Statute, which established the court: unlawful deportations of civilians, and unlawfully moving them from occupied Ukraine into Russia. The International Criminal Court has accused President Vladimir Putin of committing a war crime, as defined under the Fourth Geneva Convention, by forcibly deporting children from Ukrainian territories that he has occupied to Russia.
A warrant was also issued by the court for the arrest of Maria Lvova-Belova, the commissioner for children's rights in the Presidential office of Mr. Putin, on two charges related to the same time frame.
Russia, not being a party to the court, declared the move to be without significance.[1] Since February of last year, Moscow has been accused of atrocities due to its full-scale invasion of a neighboring area; however, these allegations have been continually denied by the Russian government.[2]
This is the first occasion that the International Court of Justice has made a warrant against a head of state of one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.[3]
The Hague-based court stated on Friday that Putin is supposedly accountable for the war crime of illegal deportation of populace (kids) and that of illegal relocation of population (children) from invaded regions of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.
Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Russia Commissioner for Children’s Rights, was mentioned in court for similar charges.
The ICC’s indictment permanently de-normalizes Russia’s relationship with all 123 state parties of the Rome Statute.[4] Under international law, if Vladimir Putin ever enters the territory of any of the following countries – the European Union, most African states, all Latin and South American states except Cuba and Nicaragua, and Tajikistan – he must be arrested.[4]
0. “ICC issues arrest warrant for Putin over child deportations from Ukraine” POLITICO Europe, 17 Mar. 2023, https://www.politico.eu/article/icc-arrest-warrant-vladimir-putin-war-crimes-ukraine
1. “All you need to know about the ICC’s arrest warrant for Putin” Al Jazeera English, 17 Mar. 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/17/all-you-need-to-know-about-the-iccs-arrest-warrant-for-putin
2. “Will Vladimir Putin ever face a war crimes trial?” BBC, 17 Mar. 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-64994992
3. “Joe Biden hails decision to issue ICC arrest warrant against Vladimir Putin” The Guardian, 18 Mar. 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/mar/18/biden-hails-decision-icc-arrest-warrant-against-putin
4. “ICC Arrest Warrant Turns Putin into a Global Outlaw” Center for European Policy Analysis, 17 Mar. 2023, https://cepa.org/article/putin-becomes-a-global-outlaw
