What is International Criminal Court ICC?
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is a permanent international tribunal established in 2002 to prosecute individuals accused of committing serious crimes, including genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The court is based in The Hague, Netherlands and has jurisdiction over crimes committed in countries that have ratified the Rome Statute, which established the court.
The ICC operates independently and is not associated with the United Nations, but it works closely with the international community and cooperates with states to prosecute individuals responsible for international crimes. The court is composed of 18 judges from different countries and regions, and cases are brought before the court by the ICC prosecutor after a preliminary investigation.
The ICC has faced criticism and controversy, particularly from some countries that are not party to the Rome Statute, who claim that it unfairly targets African leaders and lacks accountability. However, supporters argue that the ICC is an important institution for promoting justice, deterring international crimes, and protecting victims.
List of ICC member countries
As of September 2021, there are 123 member states of the International Criminal Court. Out of them 33 are African States, 19 are Asia-Pacific States, 18 are from Eastern Europe, 28 are from Latin American and Caribbean States, and 25 are from Western European and other States.
The full list of 123 members of International Criminal Court is:
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Andorra
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Cabo Verde
- Cambodia
- Canada
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Congo
- Cook Islands
- Costa Rica
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Dominica
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- El Salvador
- Estonia
- Fiji
- Finland
- France
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Greece
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guyana
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Latvia
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Maldives
- Mali
- Malta
- Marshall Islands
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Niger
- Nigeria
- North Macedonia
- Norway
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Republic of Korea
- Republic of Moldova
- Romania
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Spain
- State of Palestine
- Suriname
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Tajikistan
- Timor-Leste
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- United Kingdom
- United Republic of Tanzania
- Uruguay
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Zambia
Can ICC arrest Putin?
The International Criminal Court (ICC) on 17 March issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The charges focused on some of the crimes of the Russian invasion: thousands of Ukrainian children who were kidnapped and transported into Russia.
It’s very unlikely that Putin will be arrested while he is in power. The ICC does not have its own police force, so it relies on countries to enforce its arrest warrants.
Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court and which 123 states are signatories to, and Putin is unlikely to travel to a country that agreed to the Statute in the near term. Even if he were to travel abroad, there’s no guarantee that he would be arrested, as countries he traveled to would need to be willing to arrest him.
“Putin is not going to leave Russia. There is no world government that could compel to leave Russia,” says Bill Bowring, a professor at Birkbeck College, University of London who has represented cases against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights. “I don’t think there’s any way he’s going to suffer personal consequences.”