The United States and the International Criminal Court: National Security and International Law / Edition 1

by Sarah B. Sewall, Carl Kaysen, Gary J. Bass, Bartram S. Brown, Abram Chayes

Overview

American reluctance to join the International Criminal Court illuminates important trends in international security and a central dilemma facing U.S. Foreign policy in the 21st century.

The ICC will prosecute individuals who commit egregious international human rights violations such as genocide. The Court is a logical culmination of the global trends toward expanding human rights and creating international institutions. The U.S., which fostered these trends because they served American national interests, initially championed the creation of an ICC. The Court fundamentally represents the triumph of American values in the international arena.

Yet the United States now opposes the ICC for fear of constraints upon America's ability to use force to protect its national interests. The principal national security and constitutional objections to the Court, which the volume explores in detail, inflate the potential risks inherent in joining the ICC. More fundamentally, they reflect a belief in American exceptionalism that is unsustainable in today's world. Court opponents also underestimate the growing salience of international norms and institutions in addressing emerging threats to U.S. national interests. The misguided assessments that buttress opposition to the ICC threaten to undermine American leadership and security in the 21st century more gravely than could any international institution.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742501355
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	08/28/2000
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	288
Product dimensions:	6.42(w) x 8.78(h) x 0.87(d)

About the Author

Sarah B. Sewall is projects director at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard's JFK School of Government. Carl Kaysen is David W. Skinner Professor of Political Economy, Emeritus, at Massachussetts Institute of Technology.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 The US and the ICC: An Overview Part 3 The Roots of the ICC Chapter 4 The Evolution of the International Criminal Court: From the Hague to Rome and Back Again Chapter 5 Lessons from Recent International Criminal Tribunals Chapter 6 The Statute of the International Criminal Court: Past, Present and Future Chapter 7 Exceptional Cases in Rome: The United States and the Struggle for an International Criminal Court Part 8 The US and the ICC Chapter 9 US Perspective on the International Criminal Court Chapter 10 The Constitution and the International Criminal Court Chapter 11 American Servicemembers and the International Criminal Court Chapter 12 The ICC and the Deployment of American Armed Forces Chapter 13 The United States and Genocide Law: A History of Ambivalence Part 14 The ICC and National Approaches to Justice Chapter 15 Justice Versus Peace Chapter 16 Complementarity and Conflict: States, Victims, and the International Criminal Court Part 17 The ICC's Implications for International Law Chapter 18 The ICC's Jurisdiction Over the Nationals of Non-Party States Chapter 19 The International Criminal Court and the Future of the Global Legal System Chapter 20 Appendix: Steps in Getting a Case to the ICC Chapter 21

What People are Saying About This

Jimmy Carter

This comprehensive book gives citizens and policymakers the practical information they need to evaluate the International Criminal Court and to understand how American support will advance human rights and the national interest of the United States.

Editorial Reviews

This comprehensive book gives citizens and policymakers the practical information they need to evaluate the International Criminal Court and to understand how American support will advance human rights and the national interest of the United States.--President Jimmy Carter

Whether the International Criminal Court is seen as a necessary, inevitable instrument for justice and peace in our world, or a cleverly designed mechansim for the destruction of national sovereignty--especially the sovereignty of the United States--this book needs to be read by political and military leaders alike. Future military operations will increasingly involve coalitions, non-governmental agencies, non-national armed forces, and international structures. As a result, our future national military strategy will be confronted increasingly with theoretical and practical issues of national sovereignty vs. international governance. The creation of the ICC brings these issues into sharp focus. America's political and military leaders need to explore in detail how an international entity such as the ICC might impact on our legitimate national interests. This book will help.--Lt. Gen. Walter F. Ulmer, U.S. Army (retired)

The collection of 14 essays from distinguished diplomats, security specialists, political scientists, judges, and jurists ranges widely over the historical roots of the ICC; the relation between the U.S. and ICC; the difficult relation between criminal justice and conflict resolution; and finally the Court's impact on international criminal law and the percieved threat which might be posed to the integrity of global law if, in the end US ratification is withheld. The anthology contains a number of impressive contributions.--RUSI Journal, (Royal United Services Institute)

From the Publisher

This comprehensive book gives citizens and policymakers the practical information they need to evaluate the International Criminal Court and to understand how American support will advance human rights and the national interest of the United States.

President Jimmy Carter

authored an article focusing on Iraq, book listed in author credit

The Chronicle of Higher Education - Sarah Sewell

This is a succinct, but comprehensive assesment of the U.S. position on the ICC. The prominent contributors serve up a rich potpourri of authoritative analyses of the future relationship between the ICC and its current No.1 critic.

American Society of International Law

The collection of 14 essays from distinguished diplomats, security specialists, political scientists, judges, and jurists ranges widely over the historical roots of the ICC; the relation between the U.S. and ICC; the difficult relation between criminal justice and conflict resolution; and finally the Court's impact on international criminal law and the percieved threat which might be posed to the integrity of global law if, in the end US ratification is withheld. The anthology contains a number of impressive contributions.

(Royal United Services Institute) RUSI Journal

Whether the International Criminal Court is seen as a necessary, inevitable instrument for justice and peace in our world, or a cleverly designed mechansim for the destruction of national sovereignty—especially the sovereignty of the United States—this book needs to be read by political and military leaders alike. Future military operations will increasingly involve coalitions, non-governmental agencies, non-national armed forces, and international structures. As a result, our future national military strategy will be confronted increasingly with theoretical and practical issues of national sovereignty vs. international governance. The creation of the ICC brings these issues into sharp focus. America's political and military leaders need to explore in detail how an international entity such as the ICC might impact on our legitimate national interests. This book will help.

Lt. Gen. Walter F. Ulmer

The collection of 14 essays from distinguished diplomats, security specialists, political scientists, judges, and jurists ranges widely over the historical roots of the ICC; the relation between the U.S. and ICC; the difficult relation between criminal justice and conflict resolution; and finally the Court's impact on international criminal law and the percieved threat which might be posed to the integrity of global law if, in the end US ratification is withheld. The anthology contains a number of impressive contributions.

(Royal United Services Institute) Rusi Journal

authored an article focusing on Iraq, book listed in author credit
— Sarah Sewell

Chronicle of Higher Education

This is a succinct, but comprehensive assesment of the U.S. position on the ICC. The prominent contributors serve up a rich potpourri of authoritative analyses of the future relationship between the ICC and its current No.1 critic.

American Society Of International Law

The collection of 14 essays from distinguished diplomats, security specialists, political scientists, judges, and jurists ranges widely over the historical roots of the ICC; the relation between the U.S. and ICC; the difficult relation between criminal justice and conflict resolution; and finally the Court's impact on international criminal law and the percieved threat which might be posed to the integrity of global law if, in the end US ratification is withheld. The anthology contains a number of impressive contributions.

RUSI Journal