Justice Department Rejects International Criminal Court Jurisdiction Over U.S. Persons

"In a letter this week addressed to the President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche wrote that the Department of Justice rejects any assertion of jurisdiction by the ICC over Americans.

The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute and has never consented to the ICC’s authority. As a matter of international law, a treaty cannot bind a non-consenting country. Accordingly, the ICC has no jurisdiction over Americans — anywhere in the world — and any attempt to assert such authority is illegitimate, unlawful, and a direct affront to the sovereignty of the United States.

“The ICC has acted in an increasingly lawless and illegitimate manner,” writes Blanche in his letter to Judge Tomoko Akane, President of the International Criminal Court. “Its record of selective enforcement and credible allegations of internal misconduct raise serious doubts about the ICC’s impartiality, credibility, and legitimacy.” ...

Going forward, the United States will not cooperate with any ICC investigation, inquiry, summons, or proceeding. This includes the extradition or transfer any U.S. person to the ICC. The Department will also oppose any effort by other countries to do so..."