The pre-trial chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) came to the conclusion that Mongolia did not cooperate in the arrest and extradition of Vladimir Putin, and referred the matter to the Assembly of State Parties.
Points of attention
- The ICC found Mongolia to be in violation for not detaining and extraditing Vladimir Putin, obstructing the Court's functions according to the Rome Statute.
- States Parties under the Rome Statute are obligated to cooperate fully with the ICC and detain individuals subject to arrest warrants, regardless of their official position or nationality.
- Mongolia's energy dependence was cited as a reason for not arresting Putin, despite being a State Party to the ICC and obligated to comply with warrant requests.
- The case has been referred to the Assembly of State Parties due to the seriousness of Mongolia's refusal to cooperate with the ICC, raising questions about international law and accountability.
- The ICC's mandate to address serious international crimes underscores the importance of cooperation from all States Parties to uphold fundamental norms of international law.
Mongolia is recognized as a violator because of its refusal to arrest Putin
On October 24, the Pre-Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Court (ICC) found that Mongolia, by not detaining Putin while he was on its territory and handing him over to the Court, had failed to comply with the Court's request for cooperation, contrary to the provisions of the Rome Statute, thereby obstructing the Court perform their functions and powers in accordance with Article 87(7) of the Charter. Given the seriousness of Mongolia's refusal to cooperate with the Court, the Chamber deemed it necessary to refer the case to the Assembly of States Parties.
It states that States Parties and those that recognize the Court's jurisdiction are obliged to detain and extradite persons subject to an ICC warrant, regardless of official position or nationality.
According to Article 86 of the Rome Statute, all States Parties must cooperate fully with the Court in order to uphold its mandate.
The Chamber also recalled that the Court performs functions that correspond to the general interests of the international community by exercising jurisdiction over the most serious international crimes, which include serious violations of fundamental norms of international law.
It is worth noting that Mongolia recognizes the jurisdiction of the ICC, which issued a warrant for Putin's arrest in March 2023. So, as a state party to the Rome Statute, it had to detain Putin.
Mongolia did not arrest Putin
In March 2023, the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin on charges of war crimes, including the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine and the illegal transfer of Ukrainians to Russia, but on September 3, 2024, the illegitimate president of the Russian Federation met with the head of Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar.
This is Putin's first visit to a country that ratified the Rome Statute and had to arrest the Russian leader on a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court in The Hague in connection with Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
Mongolia explained that they did not arrest Putin because the country was in a situation of energy dependence, which makes it difficult to arrest the Russian dictator on an ICC warrant.
