On Monday, President Vladimir Putin enacted new legislation that frees Russia from any responsibility to implement criminal judgments from foreign courts or international judicial entities to which it does not belong.

This legal change, which modifies Russia’s constitution, clearly indicates that Moscow does not intend to follow any future rulings from any tribunal regarding the conflict in Ukraine, particularly those seeking to prosecute Russian officials, including Putin himself.

In March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest, alleging that he and his children’s rights commissioner were responsible for the supposed forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Russia has dismissed these allegations and noted that it never ratified the Rome Statute that established the ICC, subsequently retracting its signature from the treaty.

With the new amendment put into effect on Monday, Russian courts are no longer obligated to recognize criminal decisions made by foreign jurisdictions unless Russia was involved in those cases. Similarly, they are not required to accept rulings from international judicial authorities whose jurisdiction is not grounded in treaties that Russia has ratified or resolutions from the United Nations Security Council.

Officials from Ukraine and Europe have expressed their intention to hold Russian and Belarusian officials accountable for alleged war crimes committed during the Ukrainian invasion.

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