Speaker of Russia's Lower House calls for 'amendments' to ban ICC activity in Russia

Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Russian lower parliament house, or State Duma, suggested on Saturday drafting legislation that would forbid any International Criminal Court (ICC) activities within the borders of Russia and would punish anyone who provided the court with aid.

"It is necessary to develop amendments banning any ICC activity on our soil and envisage penalties for any assistance or support to the ICC," the speaker wrote on his Telegram channel. 

American military personnel protected from ICC criminal action

The senior Russian politician also suggested that efforts be made to reach bilateral agreements with friendly nations, under which parties would agree to forego any collaboration with or support for the ICC.

"The Russian supreme commander-in-chief should also have the right to take any action to protect our citizens from decisions made by international organizations that contradict Russian constitutional norms," he remarked.

Volodin noted a statute (law) that the US government passed in 2002 to shield American military members from ICC criminal prosecution. The Duma speaker highlighted that the legislation permits Washington to direct US military action to free US service members, officials, or politicians who are detained, noting that Russian law does not implement ICC rulings.

Russian foreign ministry calls ICC's decision 'absurd'

Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on Thursday that the participation of Russian delegations in the United Nations and its affiliated entities will not be impacted by the decisions made by the ICC. In a briefing, Zakharova emphasised that Russia's standing within the United Nations will not be impacted by the ICC's activities.

"Any actions of the International Criminal Court  will have no effect on the nature of our delegations' participation in the work of the United Nations and membership in its bodies," she said, as per a report from TASS. "The actions of this structure with regard to the citizens of our country are legally null and void," she added. 

According to Maria Zakharova, the ICC has never helped to settle disputes on an international level. In reaction to the ICC's recent ruling to serve arrest warrants against the Russian president and Maria Lvova-Belova, the commissioner for children's rights, over charges of the "illegal deportation" of Ukrainian children, Zakharova made the following statement. The rulings of the ICC, according to Zakharova, are "absurd," and she said that they simply help to tarnish Russia's reputation abroad.