Today, 17 March 2023, Pre-Trial Chamber II of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”) issued warrants of arrest for two individuals in the context of the situation in Ukraine: Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin and Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova.
Mr Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, born on 7 October 1952, President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, (i) for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute), and (ii) 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 (article 28(b) of the Rome Statute).
Ms Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, born on 25 October 1984, Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Ms Lvova-Belova bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute).
Pre-Trial Chamber II considered, based on the Prosecution’s applications of 22 February 2023, that there are reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population and that of unlawful transfer of population from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in prejudice of Ukrainian children.
The Chamber considered that the warrants are secret in order to protect victims and witnesses and also to safeguard the investigation. Nevertheless, mindful that the conduct addressed in the present situation is allegedly ongoing, and that the public awareness of the warrants may contribute to the prevention of the further commission of crimes, the Chamber considered that it is in the interests of justice to authorise the Registry to publicly disclose the existence of the warrants, the name of the suspects, the crimes for which the warrants are issued, and the modes of liability as established by the Chamber.
The abovementioned warrants of arrests were issued pursuant to the applications submitted by the Prosecution on 22 February 2023.
IMAGE - ICC President Judge Piotr Hofmanski Video statement of ICC President Judge Piotr Hofmanski:
For further information, please contact Fadi El Abdallah, Spokesperson and Head of Public Affairs Unit, International Criminal Court, by telephone at: +31 (0)70 515-9152 or +31 (0)6 46448938 or by e-mail at: fadi.el-abdallah@icc-cpi.int--
"Ukraine war: International court issues warrant for Putin's arrest "
The court has issued arrest warrants for the Russian president and another senior official over the forcible deportation of Ukrainian children.
By Amy Mackinnon, Christina Lu and Jack Detsch
People hold signs reading “Stop this war criminal” and “Stop Putin’s genocide against the people of Ukraine” during a demonstration against the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Vienna on March 5, 2022. Alex Halada/AFP/Getty Images
March 17, 2023, 3:31 PM
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and the country’s children’s rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, over allegations that Ukrainian children have been deported from occupied territories to Russia, which could constitute a potential war crime.
The existence of the warrants was made public in the interest of justice and in a bid to deter future crimes, ICC President Piotr Hofmanski said in an announcement on Friday, but the details of the allegations remain under seal to protect the victims. Although individual Russian soldiers .. https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/08/12/how-to-prosecute-russias-war-crimes/ .. have been found guilty of war crimes in Ukrainian courts, the warrants represent the first international charges to be brought against senior Russian officials since its invasion of Ukraine last February.
At least 6,000 Ukrainian children are thought to have been held in a vast system of camps and other facilities in Russian-occupied Crimea and within Russia itself, according to a report .. https://hub.conflictobservatory.org/portal/sharing/rest/content/items/97f919ccfe524d31a241b53ca44076b8/data .. released last month by researchers at the Yale School of Public Health. Some have been singled out for reeducation to make them more pro-Russian, according to the report, while others have been put up for adoption or placed with foster families in Russia—in a move that the researchers concluded could constitute a potential war crime under the Geneva Conventions.
“This is a strong signal to the whole world, not just a political statement but a legal statement, that Putin is a suspected war criminal and whoever decides to deal with him will know about this fact,” said Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Kyiv-based Center for Civil Liberties, which won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.
The warrants are likely to compound the Russian leader’s international isolation and could complicate his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is set to travel to Moscow next week. “If they give him lethal weapons, which they were hinting at doing, then they’re aiding and abetting a war criminal,” said Harold Koh, an international law professor at Yale University.
“Anything that de-legitimates him isolates him. Anything that isolates him weakens him. Anything that weakens him hurts his bargaining power,” added Koh, who served as the U.S. State Department’s top legal advisor during the Obama administration.
U.S. officials have previously described the scale of atrocities carried out by Russian troops in Ukraine as a “Nuremberg moment .. https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/06/10/ukraines-nuremberg-moment-amid-flood-of-alleged-russian-war-crimes/ ” for the international community as the Ukrainian government has worked closely with its Western partners and international institutions to document and collect evidence of war crimes, which Ukrainian prosecutors believe already number in the tens of thousands.
Ukraine is not a party to the ICC but has given the court jurisdiction in its territory to carry out investigations into potential Russian war crimes carried out over the course of the yearlong war.
It’s unclear why the ICC sought to pursue charges of Russia’s alleged transfer of Ukrainian children first, but legal scholars underscored that international law offers more extensive protections to children. “We’re looking at multiple violations, not just of the law of war but also of associated international human rights law,” said Diane Desierto, an international human rights law professor at the University of Notre Dame, who noted that one of the oldest war crimes is the illegal or forced deportation of civilian populations.
Koh added that it was more difficult for Putin to explain away his administration’s mass transfer of Ukrainian children to Russian territory. “It’s a very distinctive and completely heinous activity,” he said. Although Putin can attempt to rationalize the war, “stealing children is something that’s uniquely despicable and for which there appears to be no innocent explanation.”
Further charges against Putin or other senior Russian officials may still be forthcoming, said Kelebogile Zvobgo, an assistant professor of government at the College of William and Mary. “Just because this is the first does not mean it will be the last,” she said.
The ICC has previously ruled ... https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/05/06/icc-jordan-was-required-arrest-sudans-bashir .. that senior officials and heads of state are not afforded immunity from prosecution while in office if charged with war crimes or crimes against humanity. But significant hurdles remain before Putin or Lvova-Belova are likely to see the inside of a courtroom as the ICC relies on national governments to enforce its arrest warrants and other edicts. (It does not have a police force of its own.)
For that to happen, Putin or Lvova-Belova would have to travel to one of the 123 countries that are party to the Rome Statute, which established the court, or a country that has accepted the court’s jurisdiction.
“There’s a big question mark there in terms of international cooperation, in terms of what country would be willing and able to do that,” Zvobgo said.
One immediate ramification of Friday’s announcement is that the Russian leader may seek to limit his travel to countries that are not parties to the Rome Statute, Zvobgo said.
Putin is not the first head of state to be subject to an arrest warrant by the court. Both Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi were subject to arrest warrants over alleged crimes against humanity while in office. In 2014, then-Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta became the first head of state to appear before the court over his alleged involvement in post-election violence in the country, but the case collapsed later that year.
Beyond the practical ramifications of an ICC arrest warrant, Friday’s announcement serves as a powerful international recognition of atrocities carried out by Russian forces in Ukraine. War crimes tribunals have historically served an important role in delivering justice and accountability but only after a conflict is over.
Speaking to Foreign Policy at the Munich Security Conference last month, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas underscored the important role played by the Nuremberg trials in exposing crimes committed by Nazi Germany. “There was never a Moscow tribunal for the crimes they had committed in countries like mine or Poland or Ukraine,” Kallas said.
“In order to cut that cycle, there has to be accountability and wider knowledge also for the Russian nation [about] what they have done,” she added.
Additional reporting was conducted by FP’s Robbie Gramer.
Amy Mackinnon is a national security and intelligence reporter at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @ak_mack
Christina Lu is a reporter at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @christinafei
Jack Detsch is a Pentagon and national security reporter at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @JackDetsch
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