The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for dictator Putin. There is an assumption that sanctions will not be lifted from Russia until it extradites him.

The International Criminal Court charged Russian President Vladimir Putin with war crimes and on March 17 issued a warrant for his arrest. This was a highly symbolic move that deepened his isolation and shattered the dictator's “aura of impunity”. In addition to Putin, Maria Lvova-Belova, the Commissioner of the President of Russia for Children, received the order.

Sanctions against Russia may remain in effect until it extradites Putin

Stephen Rapp, a former special envoy who headed the State Department's Office of Global Criminal Justice, said the warrant “makes Putin an outcast.”

He is convinced that now Russia cannot achieve the lifting of international sanctions without the execution of court orders. According to Rapp, Putin will eventually end up in The Hague.

Yes, the Russian dictator is unlikely to face trial anytime soon, given that an international criminal court cannot try defendants in absentia, and Russia has dismissed arrest warrants as “meaningless.” However, the court's decision carries important moral weight, placing Putin on a par with Omar Hassan al-Bashir, Slobodan Milosevic and the Nazis tried in Nuremberg after World War II.

How Putin can end up in the courtroom

The International Criminal Court does not conduct trials in absentia. So there are 2 options for Putin's detention: either Russia itself will extradite him, or he will be arrested outside the country. This seems unlikely as long as Putin is in power.

However, experts are sure that, above all, the decision of the ISS may affect the diplomatic space for negotiations and weaken the power of the dictator within Russia itself.

Reference. 123 countries are parties to the Rome Charter. Anyone accused of a crime within the jurisdiction of a court in signatory countries can be brought before the International Criminal Court. However, the court judges people, not countries, and concentrates on those who bear the greatest responsibility. Although Ukraine is not a member of the court, it has previously recognized its jurisdiction, so Putin could be charged by the court with war crimes in Ukraine.