American Service-Members' Protection Act
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Search complete. 4 mentions across 4 episodes found for "American Service-Members' Protection Act".
Sep 24, 2026
Chris LavoieHOST
The warrant will likely go unenforced.
Chris LavoieHOST
The combined effects of not being a state party to the Rome Statute, the UN Security Council's veto power, domestic absolute immunity for official acts, and coercive measures such as the Hague Invasion Act, reinforced by Executive Order 14203, create a lifelong shield around U.S. presidents." This protection is strategic and maintained through threats of force and economic sanctions against the ICC.
Chris LavoieHOST
International criminal law designed to be universal, thus reveals a structural imbalance.
Chris LavoieHOST
It cannot reach U.S. presidents for prosecution, even for the most serious crimes they may commit.
Jake RommGUEST
Now, the problem with that in the United States is that the United States has a law that prevents cooperation with the International Criminal Court called the...
Jake RommGUEST
American Service Members Protection Act.
Jake RommGUEST
It was passed in 2001, right after the so-called War on Terror began, in order to protect American service members, politicians, and their allies from arrest and extradition to the International Criminal Court for the crimes that the US did end up committing, like crimes of torture, right? Yes.
Jake RommGUEST
So, you know, the United States is not a party to the ICC and it is under no statutory or I should say treaty obligation to effectuate the arrest warrant.
Zoe ParisGUEST
Even if we go back a bit further, the attacks against the court by the U.S., did not start with the first Trump administration.
Zoe ParisGUEST
Already under the Bush administration, there had been multiple attempts to delegitimize the work of the court, including by passing bilateral agreements with states to prevent them from transferring U.S. nationals to the International Criminal Court, by adopting also what is called and known as the Hague Invasion Act, which protects US military members from ICC prosecution and also authorises the use of any means necessary, including military force, to liberate US nationals or citizens of allied countries that would be held by the court.
Zoe ParisGUEST
So those attacks are not recent, they're not new, but what we're seeing today is unprecedented.
speaker_3HOST
What would be the impact of the sanctions?
Zoe ParisGUEST
Even if we go back a bit further, the attacks against the court by the U.S., did not start with the first Trump administration.
Zoe ParisGUEST
Already under the Bush administration, there had been multiple attempts to delegitimize the work of the court, including by passing bilateral agreements with states to prevent them from transferring U.S. nationals to the International Criminal Court, by adopting also what is called and known as the Hague Invasion Act, which protects US military members from ICC prosecution and also authorises the use of any means necessary, including military force, to liberate US nationals or citizens of allied countries that would be held by the court.
Zoe ParisGUEST
So those attacks are not recent, they're not new, but what we're seeing today is unprecedented.
Natalie PoyhonenCORRESPONDENT
What would be the impact of the sanctions?