In October 2023, officials in Mongolia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to decide whether to invite Russia’s president Vladimir Putin to attend a major state celebration, which, in previous years, had served as an occasion for important diplomatic meetings. But in March 2023, the International Criminal Court (ICC) had issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest over alleged war crimes committed in Ukraine. The ICC expected its state parties, including Mongolia, to comply with the warrant. Yet some international law experts disagreed as to whether Mongolia had a duty or even the right to arrest Putin due to longstanding rules around the immunity of heads of state. For Mongolia, positioned between Russia and China and the region’s only democracy, these conflicting legal interpretations were joined by crucial policy implications.
Since leaving the Soviet Union in 1990, Mongolia had sought to balance its two neighbours’ influence and ensure independent survival orging ties with new, democratic partners. Inviting Putin and not complying with the arrest warrant could jeopardise Mongolia’s international standing. On the other hand, not inviting the president could threaten its crucial relationship with one of its two major economic partners.
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- Understand the relationship between law and policy, especially in a highly sensitive area;
- Distinguish the relationship between international and domestic policies and law and the roles played by international and domestic officials and bodies;
- Analyse the complex range of policy domains that a single decision can affect;
- Appreciate the role of personal values in public service.