# American Service-Members' Protection Act

The American Service-Members' Protection Act, known informally as The Hague Invasion Act (ASPA, Title 2 of Pub. L. 107–206 (text) (PDF), H.R. 4775, 116 Stat. 820, enacted August 2, 2002) 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." 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".

## Description

The United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The American Service-Members' Protection 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 nicknamed "The Hague Invasion Act", since the act would allow the president to order military action in The Hague, the seat of the ICC, to prevent American or allied officials and military personnel from being prosecuted or detained by the ICC.
The bill was introduced by U.S. Senator Jesse Helms (Republican from North Carolina) and U.S. Representative Tom DeLay (Republican from Texas), 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). The amendment (S.Amdt 3597) was passed 75–19 by the US Senate, with 30 Democrats and 45 Republicans voting in support. The bill was signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 2, 2002.
Section 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).
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.
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, Omar al-Bashir and Osama bin Laden as examples.

## Reception

Within the European Union reaction was overwhelmingly negative. A European Parliament resolution on July 4, 2002, condemned the act while it was in its draft stage.
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". Meanwhile the Dutch House of Representatives passed a motion expressing its concern about the bill and its "detrimental" effects on trans-Atlantic relations. The Danish Minister for European Affairs, Bertel Haarder, stated that the law contradicted the idea of upholding human rights and the rule of law, while the German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer penned a letter cautioning that "adopting the ASPA would open a rift between the U.S. and the European Union on this important issue [of the ICC]".
The Coalition for the International Criminal Court has called the act a "dangerous symbolic opposition to international criminal justice" and Human Rights Watch condemned the law.

## Repeal attempt

In 2022, an attempt to repeal the bill, sponsored by US Representative Ilhan Omar, was introduced but died in Congress in committee; no vote was ever taken.