[News Spot] International Criminal Court Indicts Russian President Putin

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is the world's first permanent international tribunal established to criminally prosecute individuals who commit serious violations of international humanitarian law, such as genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression that threaten the international community.

It was established and inaugurated on July 1, 2002, in The Hague, Netherlands, under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, adopted on July 17, 1998, in Rome, Italy. The ICC exercises jurisdiction when a State Party of the country where the crime occurred or the nationality of the accused submits a case, when the United Nations (UN) Security Council refers a case, or when the Prosecutor initiates an investigation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (center) is seen last October visiting the Western Military District mobilization reserve training center in the Ryazan region of central Russia, engaging in conversation with soldiers.
[Photo by AP/Yonhap News]
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The Court is divided into the Office of the Prosecutor, which investigates and prosecutes crimes, the Chambers that determine the guilt or innocence of the accused, and the Registry. The Chambers consist of the Pre-Trial Division, Trial Division, and Appeals Division. Trials proceed as two-instance trials and are composed of 18 judges serving nine-year terms.

South Korea ratified the Rome Statute as the 83rd State Party in November 2002. In February 2003, Professor Song Sang-hyun of Seoul National University was appointed as the first judge and later became the second President of the ICC in February 2009 (term ended in March 2015). In 2017, lawyer Kwon Oh-gon was elected as the Chair of the Assembly of States Parties, the ICC's highest decision-making body. Since last year, the Board of Audit and Inspection of Korea has been appointed as the ICC’s external auditor, auditing the efficiency of the ICC’s accounting, budgeting, and execution. Major countries such as the United States, China, Russia, and most Arab countries have not joined.

On the 17th (local time), the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin, holding him responsible for the war crime of illegally transferring children from occupied territories in Ukraine. This is the third time an ICC arrest warrant has been issued for a head of state, following former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

In response, on the 19th (local time), the Kremlin stated, "Any decision by the ICC is considered legally ineffective. We do not recognize the ICC itself." Additionally, the Russian Federal Investigative Committee announced that it has initiated criminal proceedings against ICC prosecutors and judges. Russia withdrew from the ICC in 2016 and maintains the position that citizens of non-member states cannot be subject to ICC jurisdiction.