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Current Status of the ICC
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The International Criminal Court is the culmination of 50 years of international human rights law that began with the International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg war crimes trials) after World War II. Currently, international war crimes tribunals are established in an ad hoc fashion with limited regional or national jurisdiction. The ICC will be a permanent war crimes tribunal with wider jurisdiction. With the triggering of the entry into force of the Rome Statute of the ICC at 66 ratifications on April 11, 2002, and formal entry into force on July 1, 2002, war criminals will no longer be able to hide. Right now, the ICC has 90 ratifications. The ICC is specifically empowered to prosecute individuals for war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and crimes of aggression. It will be targeted against military and political leaders of rogue governments to bring accountability into the arena of international politics. To protect against malicious or false prosecutions, the ICC has built-in safeguards, such as the provision for original jurisdiction to remain with national courts, strict rules of evidence and procedure, and the codification of defendant's rights similar to United States or British common law rights, including the right to remain silent, the right to counsel, and the right to a public trial. The ICC also prohibits ex post facto prosecutions for crimes committed before the Court comes into effect. While opponents of the ICC, most notably US Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC), warn that the ICC will give undue power to an international authority at the expense of American sovereignty, the truth is that this is simply a myth. The United States was instrumental in the Rome conference that drafted the original Rome Statute in 1998. As a leading voice for the ICC at Rome, the American delegation pushed through extensive protections for its sovereignty, its servicemen based abroad, and its citizens. The US led the debate on the inclusion of strict rules of procedure and evidence for the court. Additionally, the US advocated that national courts, such as the US Supreme Court or US military courts, would have original jurisdiction. This means that only on highly corroberated and well-documented evidence of judicial misconduct can an American citizen be extradited to the ICC. On December 31, 2000, the United States signed the Rome Statute of the ICC, allowing the American delegation to the United Nations to participate in further negotiations on such aspects of the ICC as its budget, the election of judges, and the contextual definitions of the crimes of which the ICC will have jurisdiction. On May 6, 2002, the Bush administration declared that the US signature to the Rome Statute would be effectively nullified, and that the US would be free to pursue anti-ICC activities that would normally be in violation of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Following the declaration, the United States has withdrawn completely from official representation at the ICC Preparatory Commission. The ISC-ICC, however, will continue to promote American values and interests at the ICC as part of the non-governmental advocacy community. |
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