The United States, the European Union, and the International Criminal Court: Similar values, different interests?

Abstract

Not all countries have ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). In particular, the United States has opposed the Court, withdrawing its signature and even starting an anti-ICC campaign. By contrast, individual European Union member states and the EU as a whole have played a significant role in the creation and development of the ICC. How can this apparent difference between the US and EU position towards the Rome Statute of the ICC be explained? This article examines the nature of US and EU commitment to the Rome Statute. It also investigates factors—political and legal, domestic and international—that affect the US and EU support for the Court. The article shows that there is substantial variation along the different dimensions of support for the ICC across the two polities. These transatlantic differences in support for the ICC can be explained by a combination of factors, chiefly international and political. Moreover, these differences have deepened over time, primarily as a result of the interactions among the US and the EU throughout the creation and early development of the ICC.