United States and the International Criminal Court

The United States is not a state party to the Rome Statute, which founded the International Criminal Court (ICC) in 2002.

As of January 2025, 125 states are members of the Court. Other states that have not become parties to the Rome Statute include India, Indonesia, and China. On May 6, 2002, the United States, having previously signed the Rome Statute, formally withdrew its signature and indicated that it did not intend to ratify the agreement.

United States policy concerning the ICC has varied widely. Critics of the ICC in the United States have expressed concerns that U.S. soldiers will receive unwanted scrutiny by the court. The Clinton administration signed the Rome Statute in 2000, but did not submit it for Senate ratification. The George W. Bush administration, the U.S. administration at the time of the ICC's founding, signed the Hague Invasion Act and stated that it would not join the ICC. The Obama administration subsequently re-established a working relationship with the Court as an observer. Under the first and second Trump administrations, U.S. policy toward the ICC escalated to outward hostility marked by punitive measures and sanctions against ICC staff, particularly in response to the ICC arrest warrants for Israeli leaders in 2024.