The International Criminal Court (ICC) headquartered in the Hague Netherlands.
By Gary Raynaldo – DIPLOMATIC TIMES
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has opened a field office in Kyiv that is the largest outside its Hague headquarters in the Netherlands to probe war crimes, Ukraine Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said Thursday. According to Kostin, the ICC established the office as part of the war tribunal’s efforts to hold Russian forces accountable for alleged war crimes committed during Moscow’s ongoing conflict with Ukraine. The ICC said more than 100,000 war crimes had been registered during Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, with that number increasing on a daily basis. The ICC is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. The ICC is often referred to as the court of “the last resort.” Kostin added that the establishment of the Kyiv office represents a significant step in addressing potential war crimes in Ukraine and holding Russia’s leadership accountable.
International Criminal Court Issues Arrest Warrant for Russian President Putin for “War Crimes”
Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation (Wikipedia Commons)
In March of this year, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of committing war crimes in Ukraine. The ICC’s warrant centers on the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia since Moscow’s invasion in 2022. In addition to Putin, the ICC also issued warrant of arrest for Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova, Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights.
“Putin is allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation (under articles 8(2)(a)(vii) and 8(2)(b)(viii) of the Rome Statute). The crimes were allegedly committed in Ukrainian occupied territory at least from 24 February 2022. There are reasonable grounds to believe that Mr Putin bears individual criminal responsibility for the aforementioned crimes, (i) for having committed the acts directly, jointly with others and/or through others (article 25(3)(a) of the Rome Statute), and (ii) for his failure to exercise control properly over civilian and military subordinates who committed the acts, or allowed for their commission, and who were under his effective authority and control, pursuant to superior responsibility (article 28(b) of the Rome Statute)”. – ICC statement.
According to the ICC, its Pre-Trial Chamber II considered, based on the Prosecution’s applications of 22 February 2023, that there are reasonable grounds to believe that each suspect bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population and that of unlawful transfer of population from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation, in prejudice of Ukrainian children.
