ICC Arrest Warrants’ Impact on Putin: Q&A

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from Ukraine to Russia. Russia has denied accusations of atrocities during the one-year invasion of Ukraine. The ICC has stated that Russia’s non-ratification of the Rome Statute is irrelevant as Ukraine has accepted the ICC’s jurisdiction twice, in 2014 and 2015, and 43 states have referred the situation in Ukraine to the court. The ICC has jurisdiction over crimes committed on anyone on the territory of Ukraine from November 2013 onwards regardless of nationality of the alleged perpetrators. All state parties have a legal obligation to cooperate fully with the court, including the obligation to arrest a person in respect to arrest warrants issued. The ICC has issued two arrest warrants so far, but the situation is still in the hands of the prosecutor and new allegations can be formulated on the basis of collected information evidence. The arrest warrants are for alleged war crimes of deportation of children from Ukraine occupied territories to the Russian Federation.