U.S. Announces Intent Not to Ratify International Criminal Court Treaty

On May 6, 2002, the Bush Administration announced that the United States does not intend to become a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. John Bolton, the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, sent a letter to Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, stating that “the United States does not intend to become a party to the treaty,” and that, “[a]ccordingly, the United States has no legal obligations arising from its signature on December 31, 2000.” [1]

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While the policy merits of the Bush Administration’s announcement are of course open to debate, the announcement appears to be consistent with international law. There is nothing in international law that obligates a signatory to a treaty to become a party to the treaty, [6] and the Rome Statute itself (in Article 125) states that it is “subject to ratification, acceptance or approval by signatory States.” In addition, Article 18 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties provides that, upon signing a treaty, a nation is “obliged to refrain from acts which would defeat the object and purpose” of the treaty “until it shall have made its intention clear not to become a party to the treaty.” The Vienna Convention thus contemplates that nations may announce an intent not to ratify a treaty after signing it.

Related:

International Criminal Court: Letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan

Secretary Rumsfeld Statement On The ICC Treaty

American Foreign Policy and the International Criminal Court

President Clinton Statement on Signature of the International Criminal Court Treaty

Modern Treaty Law and Practice: Third Edition (PDF)

International law : cases and materials