The court will prosecute allegations of war crimes, genocide and other crimes against humanity, and will do so without direct authorization of the U.N. Security Council, where the United States holds a veto. This means that all nations will be required to comply with the court's demands for information, evidence, witnesses and suspects, the treaty says. The court will not be retroactive, but the existing tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia will eventually be rolled under its umbrella. This means that Washington could be assessed up to one-quarter of the court's budget, even if it does not accept the treaty. Legal experts and delegates from around the world have repeatedly said that the court will be severely limited without the financial, legal and intelligence-gathering capacities of the United States.
Foreign delegates say they increasingly doubt whether Washington can be reassured.
Several nations and legal experts have complained that any protections afforded to American troops would be more than enough to shield notorious rulers such as Iraq's Saddam Hussein who could be accused of war crimes. Mr. Scheffer said that U.S. officials have not yet decided whether to simply ignore the court, or actively work against it. We're not going to make that decision until the end of next December.