PUTIN INDICTED - SYMBOLIC JUSTICE?

After more than a year of international outrage at Russia's invasion of Ukraine and open display of shocking atrocities being perpetrated by Russian military forces, there finally is an arrest warrant out for Russian President Vladimir Putin. On March 15, the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague announced the charges against Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova, his "Commissioner for Children's Rights", for the war crime of unlawfully transferring thousands of children from occupied Ukrainian territory to Russia. ICC judge Piotr Hofmanski, in a video statement, asserted that "it is forbidden under international law for occupying powers to transfer civilians from the territory they live in to other territories. Children enjoy special protection under the Geneva Convention." The International Criminal Court was created in 1998 by a treaty called "The Rome Statute." It operates independently from the United Nations. As of November of 2019, its jurisdiction is recognized by 123 countries world wide. The ICC is a permanent international court established to investigate, prosecute and try individuals accused of committing the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression. The institution empanels 18 justices serving nine year terms. However, as a judicial institution, the ICC does not have its own police force or enforcement body. It relies on cooperation with member states for support, especially for making arrests, transferring prisoners to the ICC detention center in The Hague, freezing assets and enforcing sentences. While the Court appears to have significant support from most of the world, important exceptions are conspicuous. The U.S., Russia, China, and India, among others, have refused to ratify the Rome Treaty. This means that none of these countries formally recognize the Court's jurisdiction and are not bound to follow its orders. During Bill Clinton's presidency, the U.S. signed the treaty but did not submit it to Congress for ratification. In 2002, George W. Bush revoked the signature, ostensibly afraid of the possibility that American soldiers would be targeted by the international community. Russia signed the treaty in 2000 and ratified it in 2002. However, Putin decided to withdraw Russia's membership in 2016 after ICC prosecutors began to focus on his country's invasion of Crimea and on accusations of war crimes committed by Russian forces in Syria. China and India reject the Court's jurisdiction, charging that it violates state sovereignty and permits it to judge whether a state is willing or able to try its own nationals. Be it as it may, the Court has managed to handle 31 cases, with some cases having more than one suspect. The judges issued 38 warrants. Thanks to cooperation from member states, 21 people have been detained in the ICC detention center. Fourteen people currently remain at large as "fugitives." All in all there have been 10 convictions and 4 acquittals. Some of the more notorious defendants charged under its mandate include: Omar al-Bashir - president of Sudan - who is still listed as "fugitive"; Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi - who died before being apprehended; his son Saif al-Islam Gaddafi - who is still a fugitive; former president of Liberia Charles Taylor, who was convicted and received 50 years in a British prison; and criminals from the Yugoslav wars of the 1990's: Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic, who each received life in prison, and Slobodan Milosevic, who died from a heart attack while in detention. In other words, Vladimir Putin is joining the company of some of the most notorious criminals of the past century. This is the first time that the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for a head of state from a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Although, for practical purposes, the indictment might end up being largely symbolic, there are consequences. Putin is now officially a wanted man. His new status as an international pariah will severely limit his ability to travel outside of Russia. And while this case was essentially a slam dunk, since Putin and Lvova-Belova publicly flaunted their crime, this may not be the end of it for the Russian president. Hundreds of war-crime accusations have already been filed before the Court. While some may be difficult to prove, some are likely to move up the chain of command in the Russian Federation, potentially ending up with Putin himself. Theo Wierdsma