Russia Moves to Dismiss Foreign Criminal Judgments Amid International Legal Disputes

President Vladimir Putin has enacted a new law that frees Russia from any duty to enforce criminal verdicts issued by foreign courts or international judicial entities to which it is not a signatory.

This law, which modifies the constitution of Russia, clearly indicates that Moscow does not intend to abide by any future legal decisions from a tribunal regarding the Ukraine conflict that aims to hold Russian officials, including Putin, accountable.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him and his children’s rights commissioner of being responsible for the alleged forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Russia has refuted these accusations against Putin, stating that it never ratified its initial signature to the Rome Statute that created the ICC and subsequently withdrew its signature from the document.

With the recent amendment signed on Monday, Russian courts are no longer obliged to recognize criminal judgments from foreign courts if Russia was not involved in the legal proceedings. Additionally, they are not required to support resolutions made by international courts that do not have jurisdiction based on a treaty that Russia is a party to or a United Nations Security Council resolution.

Ukrainian and European leaders have expressed their intention to hold Russian and Belarusian officials accountable for alleged war crimes committed during the invasion of Ukraine.

In June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset entered into an agreement to create a special tribunal for this purpose.