77
votes
Why is the ICC focusing on the transfer of war orphans to Russia rather than Russia's much more obvious crimes in Ukraine?
Mass children abduction is not a "minor" crime. Connecting with Putin's denial of Ukraine as a separate nation and country, it is one of five acts that constitute genocide.
forcibly ...
- 2,965
50
votes
What's the point of issuing an arrest warrant for Putin given that the chances of him getting arrested are effectively zero?
Slobodan Milosevic thought so, too, and he did end up on trial. Right now Russia is unlikely to hand President Putin over for trial, but that might change. Or at the very least, he might find his ...
- 116k
42
votes
Accepted
What's the point of issuing an arrest warrant for Putin given that the chances of him getting arrested are effectively zero?
Does the ICC really believe they'll ever get to try Putin in their court?
What the ICC really believes is included in the video statement of ICC President Judge Piotr Hofmański (link, YouTube video) (...
- 17.4k
41
votes
Has the ICC ever ordered to arrest any Western or pro-Western politician?
In 2020, the International Criminal Court(ICC) started an investigation into alleged warcrimes perpetuated by US soldiers in Afghanistan.
So far, these investigations have not led to any indictments ...
- 78.9k
40
votes
Why didn’t the ICC issue an arrest warrant for Bashar al-Assad?
As you note, the ICC does not have territorial jurisdiction over crimes committed in Syria because Syria is not a state party to the Rome statute. A Security Council resolution which would have ...
CDJB♦
- 109k
35
votes
Why is the ICC focusing on the transfer of war orphans to Russia rather than Russia's much more obvious crimes in Ukraine?
Because if you want to indict Putin on an ICC-indictable crime it is better to pick one where the alleged crime is publicly sanctioned and acknowledged by high ranking members of the Russian ...
- 92.8k
32
votes
Accepted
Is an ICC warrant sufficient to override diplomatic immunity in signatory nations?
The very first warrant of arrest ever issued for a sitting Head of State by the ICC applies here.
After the ICC issued warrant for arrest of Omar Al Bashir, President of Sudan, he made 75 travels¹ ...
- 17.4k
31
votes
Has the ICC ever ordered to arrest any Western or pro-Western politician?
Arguably, they have.
The ICC in its 2 decade history has only handed down about 53 indictments, and they were all related to what looks to me like a bit over a dozen different conflicts or events. So ...
- 14.7k
27
votes
Accepted
Why does the US oppose the International Criminal Court?
The United States has never really been supportive of international law treaties. The main reason is many of them violate rights granted to citizens and are fairly major breaches of sovereignty. Most ...
- 14k
26
votes
Accepted
Why is the ICC focusing on the transfer of war orphans to Russia rather than Russia's much more obvious crimes in Ukraine?
So why is the ICC starting out from a very minor crime rather than prosecuting Putin for starting the war in the first place?
The crime of starting a war of aggression is specifically not in ICC's ...
23
votes
What's the point of issuing an arrest warrant for Putin given that the chances of him getting arrested are effectively zero?
This is not unfamiliar waters for the ICC.
ICC usually operates under the circumstances in which those it accuses of crimes are well-protected in their home countries. The purpose of ICC is to bring ...
- 9,628
23
votes
Are the threats made by members of the USA's Senate to the International Criminal Court chief prosecutor an abuse of power?
The threat is plausible, because both US Congress and the US Executive branch have already taken the actions which are threatened in this letter, in previous circumstances.
In 2002, US Congress passed ...
- 4,584
21
votes
Could Israel's PM Netanyahu be served with an arrest warrant from the ICC for war crimes, like Putin was because of Ukraine?
While Netanyahu may have some political responsibility for all warcrimes committed by the Israeli Defense Forces, the same does not hold for criminal responsibility. To establish criminal ...
- 14.7k
20
votes
What's the point of issuing an arrest warrant for Putin given that the chances of him getting arrested are effectively zero?
The comparable cases are the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi and the Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir (source, The Guardian).
Gaddafi was toppled and killed months after his warrant was announced. ...
- 23.1k
19
votes
How is the ICC warrant supposed to restrict Putin's travel abroad given that he's in possession of diplomatic immunity?
Diplomatic immunity only exists if the host country is willing to offer it. It does not exist by the virtue of a visiting dignitary claiming it, or their country claiming it.
If Putin wanted to visit ...
- 9,628
19
votes
What is the basis for Russia calling the ICC "the puppet of the West"?
"It is especially cynical that legally insignificant decisions ... were made public on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the US illegal invasion of Iraq, where the ICC had jurisdiction, but did ...
- 10.9k
19
votes
Could Israel's PM Netanyahu be served with an arrest warrant from the ICC for war crimes, like Putin was because of Ukraine?
The ICC has been investigating potential war crimes in Palestine since March 2021, though the investigation covers everything from the 2014 Gaza War onwards and includes Hamas' actions as well as ...
- 4,207
17
votes
Why is the ICC focusing on the transfer of war orphans to Russia rather than Russia's much more obvious crimes in Ukraine?
Three excellent answers are here so far, but two critically important aspects seem to have slipped from the existing answers. Here they are:
It is not "just" about the forced deportation. ...
- 17.4k
17
votes
Have any Western analysts explained how the crimes for which the ICC recently indicted two Russian commanders, differ from the bombing of Serbia?
Bombing power infrastructure is one of the many areas where it being a war crime or not depends quite significantly on the decision making process that led there. Power plants are not in themselves ...
- 14.7k
15
votes
Could Israel's PM Netanyahu be served with an arrest warrant from the ICC for war crimes, like Putin was because of Ukraine?
One issue seem to be that ICC is more or less "pay to prosecute", i.e. countries can make contributions to individual prosecution projects/targets, and Israel/Gaza have not had much priority ...
15
votes
Why didn’t the ICC issue an arrest warrant for Bashar al-Assad?
AFAICT none of the Syrian rebels that tried to form governments of their own have tried to apply to join the ICC, unlike the PA.
On 1 January 2015, the Government of Palestine ("Palestine") ...
14
votes
Henry Kissinger and the International Criminal court
According to the original text of the Rome Statute the ICC can not do that for two reasons.
The Rome Statute is ratified by 124 nations, but the United States isn't one of them. While the United ...
- 78.9k
13
votes
Accepted
Why did the ICC decide not to probe alleged US atrocities in Afghanistan?
The US is not a State party to the ICC, and doesn't recognize its legitimacy or authority.
This would not matter if the US generally cooperated with the ICC, but that is not the case: the US recently ...
- 30.7k
13
votes
Accepted
What is the basis for Russia calling the ICC "the puppet of the West"?
Modern Russian political climate has great emphasis on Cui prodest? thinking.
Such as, if there is a court ruling which is significantly beneficial to the interests of one of parties, the first thing ...
- 18k
13
votes
What's the point of issuing an arrest warrant for Putin given that the chances of him getting arrested are effectively zero?
Like the OP, I have mixed feelings about the wisdom of war crime accusations against Russia's leadership. Yes, all the current answers make valid points and it is a matter of principle. However, as ...
- 92.8k
13
votes
Accepted
What evidence has the ICC relied on in ordering the arrest of the President of Russia?
What evidence has the court based its decision to issue arrest warrants on?
It is not disclosed.
The Rome Statute 58(3) does not require so.
From the Rome Statute 58(1)(b)(ii) it follows that the ...
- 17.4k
12
votes
Why would the ICC need to issue an arrest warrant against Netanyahu to investigate Israel's alleged war crimes?
...why would the ICC need to have Netanyahu in their custody in order to investigate the allegations against Israel?
They don't. The suggestion (as far as I can tell) is not that the ICC should ...
- 9,463
11
votes
Is an ICC warrant sufficient to override diplomatic immunity in signatory nations?
Yes and No.
While Article 27 of the Rome Statute does say that even acting heads of state are not immune from prosecution, Article 98(1) provides an exception to this rule:
The Court may not proceed ...
- 10.9k
11
votes
What's the point of issuing an arrest warrant for Putin given that the chances of him getting arrested are effectively zero?
The probability of arrest is not relevant. The court considers there are reasonable grounds to believe that Putin and Lvova-Belova are responsible for the forced transfer of children from occupied ...
- 49.3k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible