Exclusive: Constitutionalism vs. Supranationalism - The U.S. and the International Criminal Court » Publications » Family Security Matters

Exclusive: Constitutionalism vs. Supranationalism - The U.S. and the International Criminal Court » Publications » Family Security Matters

“No aspect is more troubling … than the fact that it has been framed without any apparent respect for – and indeed in direct contravention of – the U.S. Constitution.”

– Former Senator John Ashcroft

On 31 May 2010, the Assembly of States Parties will gather in Kampala, Uganda to convene to first review conference of the International Criminal Court (ICC), since its inception. The purpose of the conference is for the Assembly of States Parties to both consider amendments to the Rome Statute and for the delegates to take stock of the Court’s activities. While the U.S. is not a State Party to the Rome Statute, the Obama Administration has taken several steps in an effort to expand U.S. engagement with the ICC. Since the court came into force in 2002, the U.S. has worked vigorously to defend American sovereignty from the court. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated, “It is a great regret that the U.S. has not yet joined the ICC.” [i] The Obama Administration has made it a priority for the U.S. to enter into a more harmonious relationship with the ICC and this move puts American sovereignty and U.S. Armed Forces in peril.

A History of The U.S. & The ICC

On 17 July 1998, 120 nations voted in favor to approve the text of the Rome Statute to establish a permanent ICC, at the Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court. While the U.S. worked tirelessly during the five-week diplomatic conference to amend the Rome Statute in a manner that would preserve U.S. sovereignty, in the end the American delegation concluded that the Treaty, in its present form, contained flaws that rendered it unacceptable. The U.S. delegation, led by David J. Scheffer, went to Rome with the hope that a permanent International Criminal Court could be constructed under the authority of the United Nations Security Council, as the United Nations Charter has charged the Security Council with the task of maintaining international peace and security. [ii]