Dragging the Russian president to the dock will be extremely difficult – but the move may be the start of a wave of prosecutions over the Ukraine invasion.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.
World leaders have been indicted before, but it is the first time the independent international organisation has issued a warrant against a leader of one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
Issuing its first warrant during the Ukraine war, the court called for Putin’s arrest on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and unlawful transfer of people from the territory of Ukraine to Russia.
The tribunal, which sits at The Hague in the Netherlands, also issued a warrant for the arrest of Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, the Russian commissioner for children’s right, on similar allegations.
Russia, which is not a party to the court, said the move was meaningless. Moscow has repeatedly denied accusations that its forces have committed atrocities during its invasion of its neighbour. It was welcomed by Ukraine as a major breakthrough.
What is the International Criminal Court?
The ICC, which has 123 member states, was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression when member states are unwilling or unable to do so themselves. A war crimes investigation can focus on soldiers, commanders and heads of state.
Neither Russia nor Ukraine is a member of the ICC and Moscow does not recognise the tribunal. But Ukraine has given its approval to examine alleged atrocities on its territory dating back to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan has visited four times since opening an investigation a year ago.
How is a war crime defined?
The ICC defines war crimes as “grave breaches” of the post-Second World War Geneva conventions, agreements which lay out the international humanitarian laws to be followed in war time.
Breaches include deliberately targeting civilians and attacking legitimate military targets where civilian casualties would be “excessive”, legal experts have said.
What investigations has it carried out?
The ICC is conducting 17 investigations, ranging from Ukraine and African states such as Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya to Venezuela in Latin America and Asian nations, such as Myanmar and the Philippines.
The ICC has convicted five men of war crimes and crimes against humanity, all African militia leaders from Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali and Uganda. Terms range from nine to 30 years in prison. The maximum possible term is life imprisonment.
What happens now?
The arrest warrants for Putin and Lvova-Belova theoretically mark the first step towards an eventual trial. It will be up to the international community to enforce them as the court has no police force of its own to chase down suspects.
The court’s president, Piotr Hofmanski, said: “The ICC is doing its part of work as a court of law. The judges issued arrest warrants. The execution depends on international cooperation.”
Although the court is supported by many United Nations members and the European Union, other major powers including the US and Russia are not members, arguing it could be used for politically motivated prosecutions.