Criminal court compromise

last updated 8 January 2015

Brussels

The European Union decided this week to let member states give U.S. soldiers immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court. The new court, established by a treaty ratified by 81 nations, will prosecute political leaders and soldiers accused of genocide or war crimes. The U.S. has refused to participate, arguing that anti-American sentiment could lead to political prosecutions of U.S. troops stationed throughout the world. So the E.U. now says that member nations may make individual agreements with the U.S. not to hand American soldiers over to the tribunal, as long as the accused face trial in the U.S. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said the E.U. compromise would remove a divisive issue and thus clear the way for the court to prosecute “the Milosevics and Pinochets of tomorrow.” Critics called it a cave-in to U.S. pressure.