- Nov 15, 2006
- 50,606
- 18,318
- Country
- United States
- Gender
- Male
- Faith
- Charismatic
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Others
Mamdani Threatens to Arrest Netanyahu If Elected NYC Mayor
If elected, New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani told The New York Times he would enforce an International Criminal Court's (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if the leader visited the city during his tenure.
Newsweek has reached out to Mamdani's campaign, Netanyahu's office, and several legal scholars for comment via email on Saturday.
Here is the problem:1. The Mayor of a city does not have the power of arrest.
Mayors do not have the legal authority to arrest individuals. They are civilian officials, not law enforcement officers, and their powers are administrative and political, not judicial or policing in nature.
He might think he is powerful - but he is not.
Even if he forces the police to do his bidding, there is a difference between local and Federal authority. The man who thinks he is king of NY does not have the power and neither does his police department.
Municipal authorities cannot legally arrest a leader of another nation. Heads of state typically enjoy immunity under international law, and local officials lack jurisdiction to detain foreign leaders unless acting under specific international mandates.
Why Municipal Arrests of Foreign Leaders Are Not Permitted
- Sovereign immunity protects sitting heads of state from arrest or prosecution by other countries’ local or national authorities. This principle is recognized in customary international law and codified in treaties like the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
- Municipal officials (e.g., city police or mayors) operate under local and state law. They do not have authority over international matters or foreign dignitaries.
- International Criminal Court (ICC) warrants may call for the arrest of foreign leaders accused of crimes like genocide or war crimes, but enforcement must be carried out by national governments—not local municipalities—and only if the country is a party to the Rome Statute and chooses to comply.
- Arresting a foreign leader without proper jurisdiction would violate international law and could trigger a diplomatic crisis or even retaliation.
- Even in cases where a foreign leader is under an ICC warrant, national governments must weigh legal obligations against political consequences, as seen in recent controversies involving leaders like Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu.
So is he ignorant - or is this just another publicity stunt?
Last edited:
