Lets put some of these myths about the ICC to bed
1/ MYTH: The Court will take on politically motivated cases against U.S. citizens or soldiers.
FACT: Numerous safeguards in the ICC treaty will prevent frivolous or politically motivated cases. First, the ICC will cover only the most egregious international crimes, defined in ways corresponding closely to the U.S. Code of Military Justice. It will have no jurisdiction over crimes committed on U.S. soil unless the United States ratifies its treaty.
Second, the Prosecutor will not be able to begin an investigation without authorization from a Pre-Trial Chamber of Judges. At that point, if a U.S. citizen were accused of a crime, the court's judges would be obliged, upon request, to defer to U.S. justice, standing down for at least six months while the United States pursued its own investigation and, if appropriate, prosecution. After that period, the judges would be able to authorize investigations only if they decided that the U.S. judicial system was willfully obstructing justice - a very high threshold. Any indictment would also require confirmation by a Pre-Trial Chamber of judges.
Finally, the U.N. Security Council can adopt a resolution suspending the ICC from investigating or prosecuting any case.
2/ MYTH: The Court will violate U.S. Constitutional protections of due process
FACT: The court is designed to be a fair, independent judicial body that respects the highest standards of justice. Indeed, the ICC has one of the most extensive lists of due process guarantees ever written, many secured through the efforts of U.S. negotiators.
The Rome Statute contains a comprehensive list of rights enjoyed by any accused person, including: presumption of innocence; right to counsel; right to present evidence and to confront witnesses; right to remain silent; right to be present at trial; right to have charges proved beyond a reasonable doubt; and protection against double jeopardy.
Former U.S. State Department Legal Advisor Monroe Leigh has said: "The list of due process rights guaranteed by the Rome Statute are, if anything, more detailed and comprehensive than those in the American Bill of Rights. . . . I can think of no right guaranteed to military personnel by the U.S. Constitution that is not also guaranteed in the Treaty of Rome."
Human Rights Watch would not support the treaty if it did not contain such due process protections.
Only the right to trial by jury is missing from the Rome Treaty because of the impracticality of impaneling a jury to hear a case against someone like Pol Pot or Slobodan Milosevic. But the United States has long accepted that its citizens (including U.S. service members) will not get jury trials when accused of crimes in countries like France or Japan, where juries are not used. The United States has signed extradition treaties with many countries that explicitly permit Americans to be tried without a jury.
3/ MYTH: The Court will deter the United States from taking military action around the world to protect its national interests.
FACT: The presence of international tribunals has never presented a barrier to military action. The United States used force in Bosnia and in Kosovo, and has deployed thousands of troops to both places, even though the area is under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia (ICTY). The ICTY has operated responsibly with fewer safeguards than the ICC, and no requirement to defer to the decisions of national courts. When the ICTY was asked to review NATO actions in Kosovo, it decided there was no basis for proceeding with an investigation.
By deterring atrocities, the Court may also limit the need to deploy U.S. troops in dangerous situations.
4/ MYTH: ICC Judges will be partisan and/or incompetent
FACT: The ICC Treaty establishes strict criteria for the selection of the prosecutor and the judges, requiring experts whose reputation, moral character and independence are beyond reproach. They will be prohibited from any activity during their term in office that might jeopardize their independence, and will be excused from particular cases if there is any question of partiality. The judges will be accountable to an assembly of member states and can be removed by a simple vote of those countries in the unlikely event that they abuse their powers.
Come on Mr President what are you hiding from SIGN UP NOW !!!!
