|
Listen to article
|
On Friday, the International Criminal Court (ICC) rejected Mongolia’s request to appeal a ruling that accused Ulaanbaatar of failing to uphold its obligations by not arresting Russian President Vladimir Putin during his visit.
The court’s decision underscores the complex legal dynamics surrounding international obligations, particularly when it comes to the arrest of individuals indicted by the ICC. Mongolia’s failure to act has now been formalized, marking a significant point in international law and the enforcement of the court’s warrants.
Despite an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Mongolia in early September. The warrant accuses him of involvement in the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“The Chamber rejects Mongolia’s request for leave to appeal,” pre-trial judges said in a ruling.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) took a decisive step in late October, accusing Mongolia—one of its member states—of neglecting its duty to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin. This accusation follows Mongolia’s failure to act on the arrest warrant issued by the court. The ICC announced that the case would now be referred to the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), the body responsible for overseeing compliance with the court’s mandates.
Read also: Netanyahu Has ‘Immunity’ From ICC Arrest Warrants – France
The Rome Statute, the treaty that underpins the International Criminal Court (ICC), requires all signatory nations to carry out the arrest of individuals for whom the court has issued a warrant. This legal framework ensures that member states are legally bound to cooperate with the ICC in the pursuit of justice, regardless of the suspect’s identity or position within the global political arena.
Mongolia, in a bid to overturn the ruling, applied for permission to appeal shortly after the decision was made, also seeking the removal of two judges from the case. This legal challenge indicates Mongolia’s reluctance to accept the court’s findings and raises questions about the fairness of the judicial proceedings.
It also asked the court to put the appeals decision on ice until there was a decision about the judges’ position.
But on Friday, the court denied Mongolia’s requests.
Judges said its decision and its referral to the ASP could not be appealed, as it did not “constitute a formal court ruling on the merits or on a procedural matter of the case”.
It was “rather a compliance assessment concerning the duty to cooperate with the Court,” the judges said.
The ICC issued an arrest warrant for Putin in March 2023.
It said there were “reasonable grounds to believe” that Putin “bears responsibility for the war crime of unlawful deportation” of Ukrainian children to Russia.
Kyiv says thousands of Ukrainian children were forcibly deported from orphanages and other state institutions after Russian forces took control of swathes of the country in its 2022 invasion.
Russia said it moved some children away from areas close to the fighting for their own protection.
Moscow has dismissed the warrant as having no consequence, but the Mongolia trip marked Putin’s first to an ICC member in the 18 months since it had been issued.
Last year he called off a visit to a BRICS summit in South Africa, another ICC member, after internal and external pressure on Pretoria to arrest the Russian leader should he attend.
