The Recent ICC Arrest Warrants Against Russia's Officials: No Shields From The Prosecution

• Published date: 17 April 2023
• Subject Matter: International Law, Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, International Courts & Tribunals, Trials & Appeals & Compensation
• Law Firm: Queritius
• Author: Ms Hanna Marunych

On Friday, 17 March 2023, the international community was astounded by the International Criminal Court ("ICC") issuing arrest warrants against Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, and against Maria Lvova-Belova, Commissioner for Children's Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation. The officials are accused of being "allegedly responsible for [. . .] unlawful deportation of the population (children) and [. . .] unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation".

Russia does not recognise the ICC's jurisdiction and considers the very issue to be "outrageous and unacceptable". Moreover, on 20 March 2023, the Russian Federation's Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against the ICC prosecutor Karim Ahmad Khan, and several ICC judges involved in issuing the arrest warrants for "the prosecution of a person known to be innocent [. . .] as well as the preparation of an attack on a representative of a foreign state enjoying international protection".

However, there is little more to those bogus criminal cases than Russia's willingness to hinder the ICC fact-finding efforts. Firstly, as ICC underlined, the arrest warrants were issued given the existence of "reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears responsibility" for the war crimes mentioned above. Secondly, the execution of the warrants is within the obligations of the State Parties to the Rome Statute to "cooperate fully with the Court" pursuant to the provisions of the Rome Statute and the national law procedures elaborated for all of the forms of cooperation thereunder. Acting both within the domestic and international legal framework can hardly be treated as an "attack".

Although it may seem inevitable for a person suspected of committing war crimes to stand before the international court, the issue may not be that straightforward when it comes to the liability of the sitting Head of State where the immunities may apply in this case.

Article 27(2) of the Rome Statute provides that "immunities or special procedural rules which may attach to the official capacity of a person, whether under national or international law, shall not bar the Court from exercising its jurisdiction over such a person". However, as the past shows the application of this rule in respect of the arrest and surrender of the state official enjoying the immunities was often not unobstructed.

For instance, one may recall the arrest...