US rejects ICC jurisdiction over Americans, vows not to cooperate with investigations

In an escalation of tensions between Washington and The Hague, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has formally notified the International Criminal Court (ICC) that the United States completely rejects the tribunal’s jurisdiction over American citizens and will refuse to cooperate with any of its investigations.

The mandate was delivered via an official letter from Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche to ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane. In the communication, the DOJ characterised any attempt by the international body to assert authority over US persons as "illegitimate, unlawful, and a direct affront to the sovereignty of the United States."

A treaty cannot bind the non-consenting

At the core of the US legal argument is the foundational principle of international treaty law: a nation cannot be bound by an agreement it has not signed.

The United States is notably not a party to the Rome Statute, the 1998 treaty that established the permanent war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands.

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"As a matter of international law, a treaty cannot bind a non-consenting country," Blanche wrote. "Accordingly, the ICC has no jurisdiction over Americans—anywhere in the world."

The DOJ went on to launch an extraordinary rhetorical attack on the court’s operational integrity, stating:

The scope of non-cooperation

The letter explicitly draws upon the American Servicemembers' Protection Act of 2002—a federal law passed by Congress that expressly repudiates the ICC’s reach over U.S. personnel and authorizes the president to use "all means necessary" to liberate any American detained by the court.

Moving forward, the DOJ declared a policy of total non-compliance:

The sudden legal firewall arrives amid heightened scrutiny over international law and U.S. military operations abroad. Legal experts note that the preemptive posture safeguards U.S. government officials, military service members, and civilians from potential political prosecutions by foreign entities.

"The United States will not subordinate the liberty and security of our people to a foreign tribunal in The Hague with no accountability to any electorate or fidelity to the Constitution," Blanche concluded.

The ICC has yet to issue a formal response to the Justice Department’s letter.