behind the scenes of the International Criminal Court’s investigation into Vladimir Putin

Last March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against the Russian president for the war crime of “illegal deportation” of Ukrainian children since the start of the invasion.

The vice seems to be tightening around the Russian president, prosecuted for “illegal deportation” of Ukrainian children. The International Criminal Court (ICC), which this week celebrated its 25th anniversary in The Hague, Netherlands, continues to collect information for its investigation.

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The collection of evidence is first done in real time, on the ground in Ukraine but also throughout Europe with refugees. Since the beginning of July, the ICC can also rely on the database created by Eurojust, the European agency for judicial cooperation. Eleven countries are already collaborating and have entered thousands of pieces of evidence: testimonies of victims, photos or videos recovered from telephones and social networks, satellite images.

These data will be able to feed a future trial thanks to certain cross-checks. For example, the testimony of a Ukrainian refugee in Poland who saw civilians being massacred will thus be cross-referenced with that of a soldier present in the area the same day at the same time.

Limited powers

This evidence will undoubtedly make it possible to bring Vladimir Putin to justice before the ICC for war crimes or crimes against humanity, since he is already the subject of an arrest warrant for the deportation of children. However, the Ukrainians want him to be tried for the crime of “aggression”, which punishes illegal wars, which would have a completely different meaning. Yet, as it stands, for complex legal reasons, the ICC cannot prosecute him for this specific fact.

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An army of lawyers are therefore currently thinking about a solution, but they are coming up against concerns. Extending the powers of the ICC to the crime of “aggression” could open a breach that worries some states such as France, the United Kingdom or the United States. Complaints could be filed in connection with their past military interventions in Iraq or Mali.

A new kind of court

The other option would therefore be to create a special international tribunal established by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN). In order not to waste a minute, Ukrainian, European and ICC prosecutors, recently joined by an American prosecutor, are already working on a future indictment for “crime of aggression” by drawing on the evidence bases already collected.

The foundations for a future Putin trial are therefore being laid. Installed at the headquarters of Eurojust in The Hague, this new type of prosecutor’s office which clearly illustrates the determination of the allies to judge the Russian president, already occupies an entire floor.


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