For Putin or Maria Lvova-Belova to face justice in The Hague, one or both would need to set foot in a participating country for them to be extradited.
Authors
Abhinav Mehrotra, Assistant Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Biswanath Gupta, Associate Professor, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Summary
Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022 and in that time, the evidence of war crimes committed by Russian forces keeps piling up. Because of overwhelming evidence of war crimes including the abduction of Ukrainian children and their forced relocation to Russia, the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova. Both Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova are wanted for the war crimes of the “unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.”
Piotr Hofmański, the president of the ICC, said the following after the arrest warrants were issued: “The International Criminal Court has issued two warrants of arrest in the Ukraine situation for Vladimir Putin, president of the Russian Federation, and for Maria Lvova-Belova…for the alleged war crimes of deportation of children from Ukrainian occupied territories into the Russia Federation. It is forbidden by international law for occupied powers to transfer civilians from the territory they live into other territories. Children enjoy special protection under the Geneva Convention.”
Published in: International Policy Digest
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