Law of 2002, passed by the George W. Bush government
VICTOR LACOMBE – United States President Donald Trump imposed on Thursday (6) sanctions against members of the TPI (International Criminal Court) due to the actions of the Court against Israel-Issuing an arrest warrant against Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
The measure was condemned by a group of almost 80 countries, including Brazil, which published an open letter on Friday (7) expressing “unshakable support” to the court, established by an international treaty-which the US is not signatory-and responsible for judging individuals accused of war crimes.
However, imposing sanctions is far from the most serious measure Trump can take against the ICC. Thanks to a 2002 law, passed by the George W. Bush government, the US president is allowed to invade the Netherlands, where the court is located, and use the strength to release Americans or citizens from allied countries, such as Israel.
The legislation has the official name of “American military protection law,” but is popularly known as “Law to invade The Hague.” It was approved with the support of Republicans and Democrats in the context of the War to Terror conducted by the Middle East in the early 2000s. Its goal was to shield US military or countries collaborating with the US with possible international liability for crimes committed in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan.
The scenario of a large -scale invasion from the Netherlands to the Netherlands is considered extremely unlikely by military analysts, as it would theoretically require all 30 NATO countries to declare war against Washington in defense of Amsterdam -in which nuclear powers such as France and the United Kingdom.
Still, since the text authorizes the US President to use “all necessary means” to free military or authorities “arrested or detained by or on behalf of the International Criminal Court”, the law makes room for a special operation even On the soil of third countries to prevent the Court of Hague from judging US citizens or allies for war crimes.
Such an action would lead to a very high diplomatic cost, possibly isolating the US from the international community. For this reason, the law is considered a intimidation tactic against the Court -which has never denounced or asked for the arrest of any US citizen since its inception.
In 2017, the ICC even started an investigation into possible war crimes committed by US Armed Forces members in Afghanistan, including possible cases of torture against enemies allegedly committed by the CIA. The inquiry was suspended in 2019, but authorized to continue in 2020. The TPI Attorney’s Office has not yet completed the investigation.
Ironically, the “Law for Invading The Hague” has already been criticized by high -ranking US Armed Forces members by the US military cooperation with any Rome Statute Signatory country, which created and regulates the ICC.
The legislation provides for important exceptions for this rule: it is not valid for any NATO country or to close allies such as Australia, Egypt, Japan and South Korea. Still, according to some US military, the stretch prevents deeper connections with countries in countries Latin America and thus makes room for the influence of China in the region.
