Justice for Some - U.S. Efforts under Article 98 to Escape the Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court

In April 2002, ten countries ratified the Rome Statute and deposited their instruments with the United Nations. These actions brought the International Criminal Court into force with over sixty ratifications. A month later, the United States declared that it no longer intended to pursue ratification of the treaty and asked to remove its signature from the statute. The United States then launched a campaign to ensure that its nationals would not fall within the jurisdiction of the Court. To ensure that the ICC does not gain jurisdiction over its nationals under any circumstance, the United States is currently seeking non-surrender bilateral agreements with other states. This note discusses how U.S. bilateral agreements will effect the legitimacy of the ICC by examining the U.S. position on the ICC and then tracing U.S. efforts to secure immunity from the Court, focusing on the U.S. interpretation of Article 98, Paragraph 2