East Central Europe: Status of International Criminal Court (ICC) Exemption Agreements and U.S. Military Assistance


 

Publication Date: November 2003

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Justice

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Abstract:

In a broad effort to obtain U.S. exemptions from International Criminal Court (ICC) jurisdiction, the Bush Administration has sought to conclude bilateral agreements worldwide that would prohibit the transfer of U.S. citizens to the ICC. The European Union has strongly promoted the ICC and is opposed to the U.S.- proposed agreements. This report addresses twelve countries of east central Europe affected by the U.S. and European policies -- Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, and Slovenia -- and the status of their varied approaches to the transatlantic disagreement over the ICC. Many in this group are in the process of joining NATO and the European Union by mid-2004. Legislative prohibitions on U.S. military assistance to non-allied ICC parties went into effect in July 2003. However, President Bush has partially waived the prohibition's application to seven countries set to join NATO in 2004. Related CRS reports include CRS Report RL31495, U.S. Policy Regarding the International Criminal Court, and The International Criminal Court and U.S. Military Assistance (in the CRS Foreign Operations Appropriations Electronic Briefing Book at [http://www.congress.gov/brbk/html/apfor40.html]). This report may be updated as necessary.