The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin on March 17, for the alleged war crime of unlawfully deporting and transferring children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.
- Apart from Putin, an arrest warrant was also issued against Russia’s Commissioner for Child Rights, Maria Lvova-Belova.
What are the so called crimes?
- Putin and Belova are allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation and transfer of children from Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute.
- Russia said that any decision of the court was “null and void” due to the country not being an ICC member.
- However, the ICC move creates a situation where Putin risks arrest every time he travels. If he travels to a state party to the ICC, then that country must arrest him according to its obligations under international law.
- This is the first time that the ICC has issued an arrest warrant against one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
About International Criminal Court (ICC)
- The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, was established under a 1998 treaty called the “Rome Statute” . It is not a UN body.
- The ICC can prosecute crimes against humanity; the crime of genocide; war crimes which are grave breaches of the Geneva conventions in the context of armed conflict and include, for instance, the use of child soldiers; the killing or torture of persons such as civilians or prisoners of war; the crime of aggression.
- Presently, 123 countries are party to the Rome Statute, including Britain, Japan, Afghanistan, and Germany. The USA, India and China have abstained from membership.
- The ICC was established to prosecute the most heinous offenses only when a country’s own legal machinery fails to act, as was the case in former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
- Unlike the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which deals with countries and inter-state disputes, the ICC prosecutes individuals.
- The ICC’s jurisdiction is limited to offences occurring after it came into effect on July 1, 2002.
- The offences should be committed either in a country that ratified the agreement or by a national of a ratifying country.
- The ICC can also practice its jurisdiction over cases referred by the UN Security Council to it.
International Court of Justice (ICJ)
- The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN).
- It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946. The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands).
- Of the six principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York (United States of America).
- The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council.
- The Court may entertain two types of cases: legal disputes between States submitted to it by them (contentious cases) and requests for advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by United Nations organs and specialized agencies (advisory proceedings).
- Only States (States Members of the United Nations and other States which have become parties to the Statute of the Court or which have accepted its jurisdiction under certain conditions) may be parties to contentious cases.
