Arrest Warrant Issued Against Russian President Vladimir Putin By International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The court alleges he is responsible for war crimes, and has focused its claims on the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. It says the crimes were committed in Ukraine - when Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

Moscow has denied the allegations and labelled the warrants as "outrageous". Contrary to the claims, the ICC has no powers to arrest suspects, and can only exercise jurisdiction within its member countries - and Russia is not one of them. However it could affect the president in other ways, such as being unable to travel internationally.

Arrest Warrant From ICC

In a statement, the ICC said it had reasonable grounds to believe Mr Putin committed the criminal acts directly, as well as working with others. It also accused him of failing to use his presidential powers to stop children being deported. Russia's commissioner for children's rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, is also wanted by the ICC for the same crimes.

The ICC said it initially considered keeping the arrest warrants a secret, but decided to make them public in the event that it stopped further crimes from being committed. ICC prosecutor Karim Khan told the BBC: "Children can't be treated as the spoils of war, they can't be deported. This type of crime doesn't need one to be a lawyer, one needs to be human being to know how egregious it is."

The Guardian

Will The Russian President Face Trial?

Although the ICC has issued a warrant for President Vladimir Putin's arrest, it is no more than the first step in a very long process. Mr Putin could be detained if he leaves the country.

Firstly, Russia does not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC. The court was established in 2002 by a treaty known as the Rome Statute. This statute lays down that it is the duty of every state to exercise its own criminal jurisdiction over those responsible for international crimes. The ICC can only intervene where a state is unable or unwilling to carry out the investigation and prosecute perpetrators.

And secondly, although it's not unknown for trials to be held without the defendant in the dock, that's not an option here. The ICC does not conduct trials in absentia, so that avenue is closed off too.