Protecting Americans From the International Criminal Court
Urge Congress to Pass the American Servicemembers' Protection Act and
the Craig Amendment to the FY 2002 Commerce, Justice, State Appropriations bill
THE DANGERS OF THE ICC
The International Criminal Court, a U.N. treaty negotiated in 1998, is dangerous to American sovereignty and puts U.S. citizens at risk. The Court will indict, prosecute, and imprison persons accused of "war crimes", "crimes of aggression", "crimes against humanity," and "genocide." These broadly defined crimes will be interpreted by ICC judges, and the U.S. must ratify the treaty in order to have one American judge sitting on the Court.
Even if the U.S. never ratifies the ICC, the Court still claims jurisdiction over every U.S. citizen. The ICC will not be required to provide Americans basic legal protections guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Despite theses flaws, President Clinton signed the ICC on December 31, 2000 but never submitted the treaty to the U.S. Senate for ratification. Over 30 countries have ratified the ICC, and it will enter into force when that number reaches 60.
AMERICAN SERVICEMEMBERS' PROTECTION ACT
On November 1, Sen. Jesse Helms introduced a stronger version of the American Servicemembers' Protection Act (S. 1610). Unlike previous versions of the American Servivemembers' Protection Act that only protected military personnel, every U.S. citizen would be protected from ICC's reach. The new bill prohibits any U.S. governmental entity from cooperating with the ICC in arrests, searches and seizures, or taking of evidence. Recognizing that the ICC is a violation of international law because it claims jurisdiction over non-ratifying countries, S. 1610 also instructs the Administration to withdraw Clinton's signature from the treaty. At this time, there is no equivalent House companion bill.
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