Vladimir Putin Debacle: The Arrest Warrant of Putin, Head-of-State Immunity and State Cooperation before the ICC and ACC

Abstract

While the issue of head-of-state immunity before foreign national jurisdictions is generally regarded as settled, the debate remains uncertain before the International Criminal Court (ICC), even though the Court does not recognise such immunities within its jurisdiction. In legal terms, although the Rome Statute waives all forms of immunity before the ICC with respect to officials of States Parties, in practice the prosecution of sitting heads of state from non-States Parties has been a debacle. The obvious argument advanced in defence of these indicted officials is that sitting heads of state benefit from immunity ratione personae under customary international law. This article examines the arrest warrant issued against Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, serving President of the Russian Federation, and his immunities as a serving head of state. It maintains that, despite the waiver of immunities before the ICC, prosecuting serving heads of state without state cooperation with the Court is far from being a reality, even though the question of immunities before an international court is determined by the statute creating that court rather than customary international law.