ICC turns down Mongolia’s appeal for failing to arrest Putin

Saturday, November 30, 2024 -The International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday dismissed a request by Mongolia to appeal a decision that found Ulaanbaatar in breach of its obligations for failing to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit.

Putin traveled to Mongolia in early September despite an arrest warrant issued by the ICC for the alleged illegal deportation of Ukrainian children following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

“The Chamber rejects Mongolia’s request for leave to appeal,” ICC pre-trial judges stated in their ruling. In October, the ICC accused Mongolia—a member state of the court—of not fulfilling its obligation to arrest Putin and referred the matter to the Assembly of States Parties (ASP), the court’s oversight body, for further action.

Under the Rome Statute, the treaty establishing the ICC, member states are obligated to arrest individuals wanted by the court. Mongolia subsequently sought leave to appeal the decision and called for the disqualification of two judges involved in the ruling. Additionally, it requested that any decision regarding the appeal be postponed until the matter of the judges’ disqualification was resolved.

On Friday, November 29, the court denied all of Mongolia’s requests, stating that its decision and the referral to the ASP were not subject to appeal as they were not formal rulings on the merits or procedural aspects of a case. The judges clarified that the decision was a compliance assessment regarding Mongolia’s duty to cooperate with the ICC.

The arrest warrant for Putin, issued in March 2023, alleges that the Russian president is responsible for the unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia—an act classified as a war crime.

Kyiv claims that thousands of Ukrainian children were forcibly taken from orphanages and other institutions in occupied territories during Russia’s 2022 invasion. Moscow, however, maintains that children were relocated for their safety from areas near active conflict.

While Russia has dismissed the ICC warrant as inconsequential, Putin’s visit to Mongolia marked his first trip to an ICC member state since the warrant was issued.

Last year, Putin canceled plans to attend a BRICS summit in South Africa—also an ICC member state—following pressure on Pretoria to arrest him if he entered the country.