International Criminal Court: What is International Criminal Court which issued warrant against Putin

The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, saying he committed war crimes in Ukraine. By the way, it is not an organization related to the United Nations.

Features

oi-Rajkumar Pal

Published: Saturday, March 18, 2023, 14:24 [IST]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on 17 March 2023 for war crimes in Ukraine. The ICC issued a warrant saying that President Putin is the culprit of the Ukraine war. So he should be arrested. On the other hand, Russia has rejected the ICC’s allegations outright. The ICC launched an investigation into the Ukraine war on 2 March 2022.

Now the question arises whether Putin can be arrested? Actually, the ICC does not have the powers to arrest the leader of any country or any person. Because it does not have any police force of its own. According to international law, the ICC can convict the leader of any country but it is up to the member countries around the world to arrest him.

In such a situation, Putin’s arrest can be done in only two ways. One, President Putin should be extradited and second, he should be arrested in any other country (member) outside Russia. Now let’s understand this matter in a little detail that what is ICC after all? What are its powers and how is it different from the ICJ (Organisation of the United Nations)?

What is International Criminal Court (ICC)
ICC was formed in 2002. It works for punishment in cases like international war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, kidnapping, slavery of women and children, sexual exploitation. The purpose of this court is that if the concerned country itself is not able to punish these crimes, then the ICC will punish such criminals. There is a listing of about 15 types of offences, under which the ICC can punish.

The formation of the International Criminal Court was approved in Rome on 17 July 1998 by 120 countries. This was called the Rome Statute. Then on 1 July 2002, the ICC was officially established.
According to the ICC, 123 of its countries are member states of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Its 6 official languages ​​are English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish. In addition, it has 2 working languages ​​English and French. Its headquarter is located in The Hague, Netherlands.

Questions on the statistics of ICC member countries
By the way, it is worth noting here that questions have been raised on the figures of its member countries. In fact, just now when the warrant for the arrest of President Putin was issued, Russia said that the ICC warrant does not matter for their country as it does not recognize it. Russia withdrew from the ICC treaty in 2016. While countries like America, Russia, Israel and Syria signed the treaty but never ratified it. However, India, China, Iraq, North Korea and Turkey never signed the Rome Statute.

ICC is investigating 17 cases
According to the ICC’s official website, ICC is currently investigating 17 cases from Ukraine, African states Uganda, Congo, Kenya, Venezuela, Latin America, Myanmar, Philippines. So far ICC has convicted 5 people from Congo, Mali, Uganda for war crimes and crimes against humanity. While 21 people have been kept in the detention center of the court.

In addition to President Putin, the ICC also issued arrest warrants on 4 March 2009 and 12 July 2010 against former Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmed al-Bashir. Despite being removed from power in the year 2019, Sudan has not yet handed over Omar Hassan to the ICC.

Is ICC a part of the United Nations?
The ICC is not an organization affiliated with the United Nations. However, it cooperates with the United Nations. When a situation falls outside the jurisdiction of the Court, the UN Security Council refers to the situation giving jurisdiction to the ICC. ICC is an independent organization.

Is it possible to arrest Putin? Learn the rules of the International Court, how will the Russian President be arrested

Whereas the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is a court of civil cases related to the United Nations, which hears disputes between countries. The ICJ does not have the power to prosecute or order the arrest of a person. Perhaps that is why the International Criminal Court (ICC) was established.