Netanyahu Arrest Warrant Implementation Tests International Law

The integrity and credibility of international law are at its lowest in years as governments dismiss arrest warrants in some of the most high-profile cases to come before the International Criminal Court.

In the past 18 months, the Hague-based court has issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and a senior Hamas official.

Netanyahu is the first Western-allied leader to be accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the court. Israel has filed appeals and asked the court to suspend the warrants. Meanwhile, several powerful nations have opted not to enforce the warrants, while others have openly rejected them.

The French response was perhaps the most damaging to the court. Paris had fervently supported the Putin warrant, and reiterated its “longstanding commitment to supporting international justice” after the Netanyahu warrant was issued. But just days later, the French foreign ministry shifted its stance, suggesting that as Israel was not a member of the court, its prime minister could be immune from arrest.

The founding treaty of the ICC obliges the 124 signatory countries to arrest Netanyahu and Gallant, according to James Joseph, managing editor at Jurist News.

“It seems increasingly less certain states will uphold this obligation,” he told CNN. “States can’t claim success in international criminal justice if they don’t commit to upholding everyone’s rights involved.”

The Netanyahu case was just the latest blow to the court’s authority. In September, Putin traveled to Mongolia without facing any repercussions. Despite being a signatory to the Rome Statute – the treaty that established the court in 2002 – Mongolia extended a red-carpet welcome to the Russian leader.

The trip was Putin’s first to an ICC member state since the court issued an arrest warrant against him in March 2023 for his alleged role in the war crime of unlawfully deportating Ukrainian children.

Lack Of Consensus

The warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant drew varied reactions from Western states, highlighting a lack of consensus on how to respond to high-profile accusations against allies.

The EU’s then-foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said they are “binding” and should be implemented. Ireland, Canada and the Netherlands agreed. Germany demurred, saying that it shared “unique relations and a great responsibility with Israel,” adding that further steps would be possible only when a visit to Germany by Netanyahu was foreseeable.

Meanwhile, Argentina and Hungary, both members of the court, made it clear Netanyahu was welcome to visit. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the ICC decision was “brazen, cynical and completely unacceptable,” and guaranteed Netanyahu freedom and safety should he visit Hungary.

The US, which never joined the court and has secured agreements with about 100 countries to prevent the arrest of Americans charged by it, condemned the warrants for the Israeli leaders.

CNN/Ejiofor Ezeifeoma