The International Criminal Court (ICC) could call Vladimir Putin for his actions. On Wednesday, the court said it would immediately proceed with an active investigation of possible war crimes following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“I want to be very clear about this, that Mr Putin is a war criminal.”former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk told the Council on Foreign Relations on Thursday.
However, investigations at the ICC have been going on for many years and have only resulted in a handful of convictions. The ICC is located in The Hague, the Netherlands, and created by a treaty called the Rome Statute first brought to the United Nations, but operates independently.
Currently, 123 countries are party to the treaty, but there are very large and notable exceptions, including Russia, the US, and Ukraine.
Who can be tried by the court?
Anyone charged with a crime in the court’s jurisdiction, which includes countries that are members of the ICC, can be tried. The court judges people, not countries. In this case, Ukraine is not a member of the court, having previously accepted its jurisdiction. Thus, Putin could be indicted by the court for previously ordering war crimes in Crimea.
The ICC is intended to be a court of “last resort” and is not intended to replace a country’s justice system.
Judicial proceedings can be initiated in one of two ways: the national government or the UN Security Council can refer cases for investigation. The ICC is intended to be a court of “last resort” and is not intended to replace a country’s justice system.
Why are the US and Russia not members of the ICC?
Both the US and Russia are signatories to the treaty that created the court, meaning their leaders signed it, but neither is a member of the court.
Russia withdrew from the court in 2016. As for the US, while President Bill Clinton signed the treaty that created the court in 2000, he never recommended that the Senate ratify it. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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