Challenging sovereignty? The USA and the establishment of the International Criminal Court

Abstract

Does the establishment of a permanent International War Crimes Tribunal(International Criminal Court-ICC) constitute a challenge to nationalsovereignty? According to previous US governments and several Americanobservers, the answer is yes. Establishing a world court that actsindependently of the states that gave birth to it renders the idea ofsovereignty meaningless. This article analyzes the American objectionsto the ICC and the conception of sovereignty and international lawunderlying these objections. It first considers the structure and intentbehind the criminal court and attempts to unveil the logic hiding behindthe idea of `America's historical uniqueness.' It touches on thediverging US and European conceptions of sovereignty and ends up arguingthat governments that stick to traditional conceptions of sovereigntyand international law in the employment of their foreign policy may losethe moral legitimacy that has proven increasingly important for winningthe sympathy of allies and regaining world leadership.