ICC Issues Arrest Warrant Against Putin 

In News: ICC Issues Arrest Warrant Against Putin

• The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Putin for war crimes because of his alleged involvement in abductions of children from Ukraine.
  • It is alleged that more than 16,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the February 24, 2022 invasion.
• The arrest warrant for Mr. Putin, a sitting head of state of a U.N. Security Council (UNSC) member, is an unprecedented step for the ICC.
• Moscow dismissed the orders as void as Russia is not a party to the ICC.

How Does The ICC Function?

• Judges & Prosecutors
  • The court carries out its investigations through the Office of the Prosecutor and has 18 judges.
  • Both the judges and prosecutors hold non-renewable 9-year terms.
• Process
  • There are pre-trial, trial, and appellate benches in the ICC.
  • The prosecutor conducts a preliminary examination in a matter, before seeking permission from pretrial judges to open a full investigation.
    • The initial examination must conclude that the crimes in question are of sufficient gravity.
• Ways to open investigations
  • The prosecutor can open an investigation in three ways:
    • when a case is referred by a member country in its own territory
    • when a case is referred by the UNSC
    • when the prosecutor takes up a case proprio motu or on his own
  • Non-member states can also be investigated in three ways:
    • if alleged crimes were perpetrated by non-members in member states
    • if the non-members accept the court’s jurisdiction (Article 12(3))
    • when the Security Council authorises it

Criticisms Of The ICC

• Pace Of Investigation And Judgements
  • After 19 years of being active, the court has convicted 10 persons accused in a small number of cases and acquitted four individuals.
  • Hence, some experts question whether the time, efforts and financial resources invested in the court by member countries is worth the outcome.
    • The court’s annual budget for 2021 was over $160 million.
• Afraid to take actions against Western powers
  • This was pointed out first, when the court denied permission to start an investigation into Afghanistan in 2019, and second, when the current prosecutor wanted to restart the investigation after the Taliban takeover.
• Bias against African countries
  • Another point of contention is that barring recent years, the court, since its formation, largely took up investigations into alleged crimes committed in African countries.
  • All of the nearly 30 cases currently in the trial stage before the court are from African countries.
    • The African Union in 2016 had endorsed a proposal led by Kenya for a mass withdrawal from the Rome Statute.
    • The vote on this proposal, however, was symbolic.
• Limited jurisdiction
  • 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 court has no power to arrest sitting heads of state or bring them to trial, and instead must rely on other leaders and governments.