On March 17, the International Criminal Court in The Hague issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin leader is accused of war crimes in connection with the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. The ISS also issued an arrest warrant for Maria Lvovo-Belova, the Russian government’s commissioner for children’s rights.
The investigation is being led by ISS chief prosecutor Karim Khan, who visited Ukraine three times last year. According to t-online, arrest warrants are the first step towards a lawsuit. However, it is clear from preliminary trials that it is difficult to hold high-ranking government officials accountable. In more than 20 years, there have been only five convictions for so-called core crimes. None of the convicts is a high-ranking representative of the government apparatus.
Putin’s arrest is also unlikely: he cannot invoke his immunity, as it does not cover war crimes or crimes against humanity. But the Russian Federation does not recognize the court in The Hague. Therefore, the Russian authorities are unlikely to take action against their president, especially in Russia, which now has dictatorial features.
But as long as Putin is only in Russia or traveling to countries that have not signed the Rome Charter, the arrest warrant does not pose any threat to him. He cannot even be tried in absentia - the International Criminal Court does not have the right to judge people who are not themselves present in court. The most likely scenario for Putin to face judges in The Hague is probably a regime change in Russia: if Putin loses his post, and hence power, the new Russian leadership could extradite him to The Hague. However, if a trial ever takes place, Putin’s conviction will not be guaranteed. Prosecutors will have to clearly prove that the president personally ordered the war crimes or that they were committed under his direction.
Recall that the GUR believes that the Kremlin is looking for Putin’s successor.
Source: Fakty
I am Joseph Zeman, a journalist who mostly covers world news for the Daily News Hack. I pride myself on being able to find and report stories that others might miss. I have a knack for being able to see both sides of every issue and this allows me to provide readers with well-rounded stories. In addition to my work as a journalist, I am also an author and have written several books on current affairs.
