The United States and the International Criminal Court

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.

A growing international consensus supports the idea of holding individuals responsible for the most egregious violations of human rights such as genocide. This consensus lies behind the recent efforts to create an International Criminal Court (ICC). The United States, however, has refused to support the ICC, citing concerns that the Court may pose a threat to national security. This volume brings legal, historical, military, and political perspectives to an examination of U.S. concerns about the ICC. The contributors assess not only the potential national security risks that would be associated with a functioning ICC, but also the potential costs to U.S. security that may result from opposing the Court's creation.

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