The third head of state to be indicted while still in power
What does the ICC warrant for Putin's arrest mean
Laurent Gbagbo was acquitted of all charges in 2019 after a three-year trial. Archival
Uhuru Kenyatta is the only leader to appear before the ICC while still in office. Archival
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We may not see Russian President Vladimir Putin being held in a cell in The Hague anytime soon, but his arrest warrant for war crimes could damage his ability to travel freely and meet other world leaders who may feel less inclined to meet a man wanted for justice. Putin is the third head of state indicted by the ICC while still in power. Here's a look at the consequences the Kremlin leader might face.
■ What's the issue?
The ICC accuses Putin of responsibility for the war crime of deporting Ukrainian children, at least hundreds, possibly more, to Russia.
The Kremlin was quick to reject the accusations, and Russia's foreign minister said the ICC decisions "have no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view."
■ Traveling abroad
The ICC's 123 member states are required to arrest and transfer Putin if he sets foot on their territory. Russia, China, the United States and India are not members of the ICC. India will host a summit later this year of G<> leaders, which includes Russia.
The Permanent Court for World War Crimes was established by the Rome Statute, a treaty ratified by all EU countries, plus Australia, Brazil, Britain, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Switzerland, 33 African countries and 19 South Pacific countries.
Russia signed the Rome Statute in 2000 but withdrew its support in 2016 after the International Criminal Court classified Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea peninsula as an armed conflict.
Eva Vukosić, assistant professor of history at Utrecht University, said: "Putin is not stupid, he will not travel abroad to a country where he may be arrested."
"He will probably not be able to travel anywhere else, other than countries that are either clearly allies or at least somewhat allied (with) Russia."
■ Previous experience of the International Criminal Court
Former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and the late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi are the only leaders indicted by the International Criminal Court while in command of their countries, and charges against Gaddafi were quashed after he was overthrown and killed in 2011.
Bashir, accused in 2009 of genocide in Darfur, remained in office for another 10 years until he was ousted in a coup and has since been tried in Sudan for other crimes but has not been handed over to the ICC.
While in office, al-Bashir traveled to a number of Arab and African countries, including ICC member states such as Chad, Djibouti, Jordan, Kenya, Malawi, South Africa and Uganda, which refused to detain him. The court reprimanded those countries or referred them to the UN Security Council for non-compliance.
The ICC tried a former head of state who left office, former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo, who was acquitted of all charges in 2019 after a three-year trial.
Kenyan President William Ruto and his predecessor Uhuru Kenyatta were indicted by the court before they were elected. The charges against both men have since been dropped. Kenyatta is the only leader to appear before the ICC while still in office.
■ Other courts
Apart from the ICC, several former leaders have been tried before other international tribunals.
Among the high-profile cases, the late Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic was the first former head of state to appear before an international tribunal since World War II, when he was tried by a UN tribunal for crimes committed during the Balkan wars in the 2006s, and died in custody in <> before the verdict was pronounced.
Former Liberian President Charles Taylor was convicted of war crimes by the UN-backed Sierra Leone Special Court in The Hague in 2012, the first former head of state to be convicted of war crimes by an international tribunal since the Nuremberg trials of Nazi leaders after World War Two.
Former Kosovo President Hashim Thaci, one of Milosevic's opponents in the Balkan wars in the nineties, left office after being indicted by the Kosovo War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague for war crimes. He is due to stand trial next month.