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

There have been many such cases in history, in which the accused have been arrested. The leader who seems to be the most powerful today may change his position in the future and countries have entered into agreements with the international community.

international

oi-Abhijat Shekhar Azad

Published: Saturday, March 18, 2023, 09:10 [IST]

Vladimir Putin ICC Arrest Warrant:
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for the Ruri president on charges of waging war against Ukraine, and Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, said that “hundreds of children are being held illegally in orphanages and children’s homes in the occupied territories of Ukraine”. Arrest warrants have been issued against Putin on the charge of taking him from Russia to Russia in the name of giving him a new family. Vladimir Putin has become the third leader in the world, after Omar al-Bashir of Sudan and Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, to be issued an arrest warrant by the ICC while in office. But, the question arises, can Vladimir Putin really be arrested? If yes, how can he be arrested and what will be its effect on the whole world?

What is the meaning of ICC warrant?

In simple words, ICC’s warrant means that there are 123 member countries of ICC, who are bound to obey its decision. Means, if Vladimir Putin steps into 123 countries of the world now, then these 123 countries will be bound to arrest the Russian President, and transfer him to ICC head office Hague for further investigation. However, Russia has rejected the ICC’s decision as ‘disgraceful’ and Russia has called the ICC’s decision ‘null and void’ and said that Russia does not recognize the International Criminal Court. Therefore, Russia’s attitude towards the International Court of Justice raises doubts whether Putin can be arrested and prosecuted?

It is very difficult to prosecute Putin

Experts say that the possibility of prosecuting Putin is not far-fetched. Moscow does not recognize the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, and does not extradite its citizens, and Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed this after the court’s decision on Putin. He said that ‘the decisions of the International Criminal Court have no meaning for our country, and legal considerations are also included.’ Even ICC President Piotr Hoffmannsky acknowledged that the court’s judges had issued warrants, but that it would be up to the international community to enforce them. Let us tell you that under the Rome Statute system of International Criminal Justice, it does not have any police force to enforce its orders, so it is up to its member countries to implement the court’s decisions. Do you work to get it implemented or not?

Is it possible to arrest Putin?

Under the rules of the International Criminal Court, any person can be prosecuted only when that person is personally present in the court, in his absence, he cannot be prosecuted. This means that Putin can be prosecuted only when he is personally present in the court, but for this it is necessary that the Russian President is arrested and taken to the Hague office of the International Court, and this is quite It is more difficult, but not impossible either. When an arrest warrant is issued against a person by the International Court of Justice, and that suspect travels to another country, a reminder is given to that country by the ICC against that suspect. If a country does not follow the order of the International Court, then the court keeps it in its notice. In the case of Vladimir Putin, he cannot be arrested on Russian territory, but it is also true that he has traveled abroad since the start of the war in February last year, but is he now outside Russia? Will you leave? Because not accepting the decision of ICC on behalf of its member countries becomes very difficult in terms of geo-politics. However, countries that are not members of the ICC are not bound by its rules.

Is ICC’s arrest warrant symbolic?

If seen in history, there are some countries which, despite not being members of ICC, have contributed in implementing the decisions of ICC. And if the United Nations talks about the implementation of the ICC’s decision, then it becomes a moral thing (not a legal thing) for the member states of the United Nations to contribute to the implementation of the ICC’s order. However, speaking on the possibility of whether or not President Putin will be arrested, ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan spoke to the BBC and said that “those who feel they can ‘crime by day, and sleep well at night’ They should probably look at history”. At the same time, according to the BBC report, lawyer Joshua Rosenberg admitted that this warrant was “somewhat symbolic”, but he also said that this warrant sends a message. He said that the warrant is a message to Putin, because even though he may be the president of a country today, he may not be the president tomorrow, and in that case you can be caught.

Under what circumstances can Putin be arrested?

Ken Roth, former executive director of Human Rights Watch, said that “the impact of Western sanctions may compel the Kremlin to cooperate with the ICC”. Speaking to The Eye, he said that “If there is severe economic pressure on Russia, which it is now, Russia may have to compromise in the future and such a situation will create an atmosphere of arrest for Putin.” He added that “Today, Putin can rest assured that he does not need to worry about the ICC warrant, but he must ensure that he remains President of Russia for life.” He said, “History is witness, that countries have made agreements and pressure from the international community has worked, but if someone else becomes the President of Russia after Putin, he will open relations with the world to end the sanctions.” We can move towards restoration and that will be the time when the pressure will be on Russia to arrest Putin and transfer him to the court.”

With which leaders in history has this happened?

Legal experts say that history has seen the impact of ICC decisions, citing Slobodan Milosevic, the former president of Yugoslavia, who was on trial for war crimes in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo. No one thought Milosevic would face trial during his lifetime, but in 2001, the then Prime Minister of Serbia, Zoran Djindjic, came under immense pressure to cooperate with the ICC and broke down under economic pressure and then Slobodan Milosevic’s government. was overthrown and transferred to the International Court of Justice. Similarly, Bosnian Serb political and military leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladić faced trial in The Hague in 2016 and 2017 for war crimes. After many years he was arrested in Serbia. There are also the cases of Charles Taylor in Liberia, who was jailed for 50 years, and Felicien Kabuga, who was arrested in 2020. Felicien Kabuga was issued an arrest warrant in 1997 on charges of genocide in Rwanda. Felicien Kabuga also had a £4 million bounty placed on him and was accused of supplying arms to ethnic hermits who massacred eight million ethnic minorities.

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