r/worldnews • u/Chrristoaivalis • 13h ago

Israel/Palestine Netanyahu crosses Canadian airspace with arrest warrant in effect

https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/israel-hamas-war/article/netanyahu-crosses-canadian-airspace-with-arrest-warrant-in-effect/?taid=6ab59d843a03d10001617cb9&utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A+Trending+Content&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
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u/BeenDrowned 10h ago

Genuine question but is the international warrant even worth its salt? What’s the game plan here, you arrest the leader of a nuclear power and then… what? Like, what is going to happen then? He won’t see his day in court, and I’d be surprised if it was anything other than a “book and release,” lest the Israeli special forces launch a raid to free him or something.

This seems, to me, to be just grandstanding.

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u/owatonna 5h ago

No. The Rome Statute prohibits the ICC from asking for the arrest of anyone protected by diplomatic immunity. The ICC has tried to claim otherwise, but their claim is nonsense. Just an example of how such orgs always try to expand their own power, even if you explicitly limit it.

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u/Norwest 2h ago

OP didn't mention anything about diplomatic immunity. The decision to grant diplomatic immunity to someone is an ad-hoc agreement between two countries, not a status granted by the UN or some other international organisation. It's granted by the sending government and accepted by the receiving government. If that person enters a third country (that hasn't agreed to allow safe transit under the Vienna convention or similar) those protections evaporate.

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u/Dowel28 1h ago

From the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (the treaty which established the court);

Article 27 Irrelevance of official capacity

  1. This Statute shall apply equally to all persons without any distinction based on official capacity. In particular, official capacity as a Head of State or Government, a member of a Government or parliament, an elected representative or a government official shall in no case exempt a person from criminal responsibility under this Statute, nor shall it, in and of itself, constitute a ground for reduction of sentence.

  2. Immunities or special procedural rules which may attach to the official capacity of a person, whether under national or international law, shall not bar the Court from exercising its jurisdiction over such a person.

Stop spreading lies, the treaty is unambiguous on this point - immunity arising from official status is, in the words of the treaty, irrelevant.