The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague – established as an international judicial body by the Rome Treaty in 1998, ratified by 123 countries – has issued on Friday an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the abduction of Ukrainian children. It was the first time it was issued a warrant against one of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.
Other Russian officials are pursued. A significant fact: the U.S. is not a member of the ICC and can’t be suspected of influencing its decision. The Russian’s reaction was communicated by Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “The decisions of the International Criminal Court have no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view.” “Russia does not cooperate with this body, and possible ‘recipes’ for arrest coming from the International Court of Justice will be legally null and void for us,” she added. However, if Putin leaves Russia, he can be arrested. The court has no police force of its own to enforce warrants. “There’s a clear case here against Putin,” declared Wayne Jordash, a Kyiv-based international human rights lawyer. On Thursday, an UN report confirmed several categories of war crimes made by Russia in Ukraine.
