Volodin’s aversion to the court is prompted by the ICC’s recent arrest warrant against President Vladimir Putin over war crimes in Ukraine. In Russia, a criminal investigation has already started against the chief prosecutor and three judges of the criminal court in The Hague. According to the Russian judiciary, the magistrates of the ICC have taken illegal decisions and an investigation is being launched against them. The Kremlin calls the ICC’s orders legally without basis.
The US has previously taken numerous measures to prevent Americans from ever appearing before this court. Measures have been announced for some time against prominent employees of the ICC, including the Chief Prosecutor. And a special law has been made that justifies global military intervention if Americans are detained for trial by the ICC. The law has been jokingly referred to as The Hague Invasion Act.
China, which also does not recognize the court, has condemned Putin’s arrest warrant in response. The ICC should avoid “double standards” and respect the “immunity of heads of state”. Beijing refers to the Western influence on the ICC and the years of lack of cases about crimes in Afghanistan and Israel, for example.