The
American Service-Members' Protection Act (ASPA, Title 2 of
Pub. L.Tooltip Public Law (United States)
107–206 (text) (PDF),
H.R. 4775, 116
Stat. 820, enacted August 2, 2002), known informally as the
Hague Invasion Act, is a
United States federal law described as "a bill to protect
United States military personnel and other elected and appointed officials of the
United States government against
criminal prosecution by an international criminal court to which the
United States is not party."
[1] The text of the Act has been codified as subchapter II of chapter 81 of title 22, United States Code.
The Act gives the President power to use "all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any U.S. or allied personnel being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the
International Criminal Court".
[2]
Description[edit]
The United States is not a member of the
International Criminal Court (ICC). The Act authorizes the
President of the United States to use "all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any U.S. or allied personnel being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the International Criminal Court". This authorization led to the act being colloquially nicknamed "The Hague Invasion Act", as the act allows the President to order U.S. military action, such as an
invasion of
The Hague, where the ICC is located, to protect American officials and military personnel from prosecution or rescue them from custody.
[3][4]
The bill was introduced by
U.S. Senator Jesse Helms (Republican from North Carolina) and
U.S. Representative Tom DeLay (Republican from Texas),
[5] as an amendment to the 2002 Supplemental Appropriations Act for Further Recovery From and Response to Terrorist Attacks on the United States (H.R. 4775).
[6] The amendment (S.Amdt 3597) was passed 75–19 by the
US Senate,
[7] with 30
Democrats and 45
Republicans voting in support. The bill was signed into law by
President George W. Bush on August 2, 2002.
SEC. 2008. of the Act authorizes the President of the U.S. "to use all means necessary and appropriate to bring about the release of any person described in subsection (b) who is being detained or imprisoned by, on behalf of, or at the request of the International Criminal Court". The subsection (b) specifies this authority shall extend to "Covered United States persons" (members of the Armed Forces of the United States, elected or appointed officials of the United States Government, and other persons employed by or working on behalf of the United States Government) and "Covered allied persons" (military personnel, elected or appointed officials, and other persons employed by or working on behalf of the government of a NATO member country, a major non-NATO ally including Australia, Egypt, Israel, Japan, Argentina, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand).[
citation needed]
Effects and reception[edit]
The act prohibits federal, state and local governments and agencies (including courts and
law enforcement agencies) from assisting the International Criminal Court (ICC). For example, it prohibits the
extradition of any person from the U.S. to the ICC; it prohibits the transfer of
classified national security information and law enforcement information to the ICC; and it prohibits agents of the court from conducting investigations in the U.S.[
citation needed]
The act also prohibits U.S. military aid to
countries that are party to the ICC. However, exceptions are allowed for aid to
NATO members,
major non-NATO allies,
Taiwan, and countries that have entered into "
Article 98 agreements", agreeing not to hand over U.S. nationals to the ICC. Additionally, the act does not prohibit the U.S. from assisting in the search and capture of foreign nationals wanted for prosecution by the ICC, specifically naming
Saddam Hussein,
Slobodan Milošević, and
Osama bin Laden as examples.[
citation needed]
The act has been condemned by human rights organizations. The
Coalition for the International Criminal Court has called the act a "dangerous symbolic opposition to international criminal justice"
[8] and
Human Rights Watch also condemned the law.
[3] The
Brookings Institution says the act "chills U.S. efforts to support the ICC’s work in Ukraine".
[9] A European Parliament resolution of 4 July 2002 condemned the act.
[10]
Dutch reaction to the Act was negative, taking issue with section 2008 of the bill. The
Dutch Ambassador to the United States, Boudewijn van Eenennaam, voiced his protests saying that the Dutch were "Not particularly amused by Section 2008" and that "we think the language used was ill-considered to say the least".
[11] Meanwhile the
Dutch House of Representatives passed a motion expressing its concern about the bill and its "detrimental" effects on trans-Atlantic relations.
[12]