The International Criminal Court as a Component of U.S. National Security Strategy

Abstract

In 2000, the United States signed the Treaty of Rome, agreeing to the creation of the International Criminal Court. But subsequently, the United States withdrew from the treaty, expressing serious reservations about the court. Since the United States' withdrawal from the treaty, the Kampala Conference, work within the court, and the practices of the court may have served to answer the United States' reservations to the treaty's ratification. This research paper first analyzes U.S. public statements with respect to the rule of law being a goal of national security strategy. The paper then analyzes how the International Criminal Court fits into the U.S. conception of advancing the rule of law. The paper discusses objections to the International Criminal Court and then determines whether those objections are applicable, especially in light of developments since the Kampala Conference. The analysis also will examine the effect of the transition of U.S. security personnel from national forces to private contractors on the acceptability of International Criminal Court accession. The paper will compare the advantages and disadvantages of ICC accession, determine if U.S. accession is advisable, and recommend actions to help the United States make progress toward accession.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 21, 2012
Accession Number
ADA592704

Entities

People

  • Jonathan R. Hirsch

Organizations

  • The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Counter WMD
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Congress
  • Contractors
  • Criminals
  • Department Of Defense
  • Governments
  • International Law
  • International Relations
  • International Security
  • Law Enforcement
  • National Politics
  • National Security
  • Security
  • Treaties
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Criminal Law
  • International Relations and European Studies
  • Systems Analysis and Design