Acceso usuarios
The issue of an arrest warrant by Pre-Trial Chamber II of the Interna- tional Criminal Court (ICC) against the current President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin has revived crucial questions concerning the compatibility of the duty of cooperation binding States parties to the ICC Statute with customary norms on Head of States’ immunity. This paper investigates the subject, paying specific attention to the existence of customary rules either recognizing or denying Head of States’ immunity with specific r eference to States’ execution of arrest warrants issued by the ICC. On the basis of a critical revision of the landmark judgment of the ICC Appeals Chamber in the Al-Bashir case, this contribution deals both with methodological issues pertaining to the identification of r elevant State practice in this field and with substantial questions concerning the current state of customary norms on immunity, in view of the need to fight impunity in relation to the commission of international crimes
