DISINFO: The ICC is a puppet in the hands of the collective West
SUMMARY
This biased, politicised and incompetent international court has once again proven its inferiority. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a puppet in the hands of the collective West, always ready to exercise false justice. Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute, and therefore the ICC does not have jurisdiction over Russia and its citizens. We consider any documents issued by this body to be illegal and void.
RESPONSE
Pro Kremlin narrative discrediting the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the context of its investigation into war crimes committed during the military invasion of Ukraine.
This claim has been neither counterbalanced nor critically challenged in the article.
On 17 March 2023, the ICC issued arrest warrants for two individuals in the context of the situation in Ukraine: Vladimir Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova.
As a result of the ICC's decision, 123 member states are obliged to detain and transfer Putin if he sets foot on their territory, significantly limiting his ability to travel abroad. Diplomatic immunity would not protect him against this.
The ICC has jurisdiction to try individuals for genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression if:
-the country where the offence was committed is a party to the Rome Statute or accepted the Court’s jurisdiction on an ad hoc basis with respect to a given situation by lodging a Declaration under article 12(3) of the Statute.; -or the perpetrator's country of origin is a party to the Rome Statute.
On 16 November 2016, Putin signed a decree formally withdrawing Russia from the agreement on the ICC in the Hague. However, the crimes for which the two arrest warrants were issued were committed on Ukrainian territory. Ukraine accepted the Court's jurisdiction over alleged crimes under the Rome Statute occurring on its territory twice, pursuant to article 12(3) of the Statute. The first declaration lodged by the Government of Ukraine accepted ICC jurisdiction with respect to alleged crimes committed on Ukrainian territory from 21 November 2013 to 22 February 2014. The second declaration extended this time period on an open-ended basis to encompass ongoing alleged crimes committed throughout the territory of Ukraine from 20 February 2014 onwards.
The court's jurisdiction is clearly established.
The ICC is an independent body whose mission is to try individuals for crimes within its jurisdiction without the need for a special mandate from the United Nations. On 4 October 2004, the ICC and the United Nations signed an agreement governing their institutional relationship. Within the Court, the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) is itself an independent body.
The accusations about the ICC or the OTP being puppets in the hands of the collective West is a conspiracy theory.
Read also related cases such as: Russia does not recognise the International Criminal Court at The Hague, the kidnapping of Ukrainian children by Russia is an absurd hoax, Russia hits only military targets in Ukraine.
See more cases concerning the ICC arrest warrant here.