IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 265 
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States should neither 
become a signatory to the Rome Statute on the International Criminal 
Court nor attend the Review Conference of the Rome Statute in Kam-
pala, Uganda, commencing on May 31, 2010. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 21, 2010 
Mr. LAMBORN (for himself, Mr. SMITH of Texas, Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN, Mr. 
MCCOTTER, Mr. GARRETT of New Jersey, Mr. JONES, Mr. BURTON of 
Indiana, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. CHAFFETZ, Mr. LATTA, Mrs. 
BACHMANN, Mr. PITTS, Mr. AKIN, Mr. KINGSTON, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. 
CONAWAY, Mr. KING of Iowa, Mr. MCCLINTOCK, Mr. GINGREY of Geor-
gia, Mr. BURGESS, Mr. MANZULLO, Mr. MARCHANT, Mr. BROWN of 
South Carolina, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. JORDAN of Ohio, Mr. POE of Texas, 
and Mr. BILIRAKIS) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of the Congress that the United States 
should neither become a signatory to the Rome Statute 
on the International Criminal Court nor attend the Re-
view Conference of the Rome Statute in Kampala, Ugan-
da, commencing on May 31, 2010. 
Whereas President Bill Clinton signed the Rome Statute on 
the International Criminal Court (Rome Statute) through 
a designee on December 31, 2000, but acknowledged 
‘‘significant flaws’’ in the treaty, and recommended that 
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•HCON 265 IH 
his successor not submit the treaty to the United States 
Senate for advice and consent; 
Whereas the ‘‘significant flaws’’ identified by President Clin-
ton, including the fact that the International Criminal 
Court (ICC) claims the power to exercise authority and 
jurisdiction over the citizens of nations that have not 
ratified the treaty, persist and have not been remedied; 
Whereas President George W. Bush through Under Secretary 
of State for Arms Control John Bolton notified United 
Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on May 6, 2002, 
that the United States does not intend to become a party 
to the Rome Statute and therefore has no legal obliga-
tions arising from its signature on December 31, 2000; 
Whereas the United States Government, acting through its 
elected representatives, is the sole arbiter regarding deci-
sions on the use of military force in its defense or in the 
defense of its allies; 
Whereas the Rome Statute undermines national sovereignty 
and established principles of customary international 
norms by claiming the authority in certain circumstances 
to investigate and prosecute citizens and military per-
sonnel of a nation that is not a party to the treaty and 
has not accepted the jurisdiction of the ICC; 
Whereas the United Nations Security Council, upon which 
the United States holds a permanent, veto-wielding seat, 
is conferred under the United Nations Charter with ‘‘pri-
mary responsibility for the maintenance of international 
peace and security’’; 
Whereas the authority of the ICC inappropriately intrudes 
upon the United Nations Security Council’s primary re-
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•HCON 265 IH 
sponsibility under the United Nations Charter for the 
maintenance of international peace and security; 
Whereas in September 2009, the ICC Office of the Pros-
ecutor announced that ICC personnel were investigating 
accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity 
allegedly committed by United States and North Atlantic 
Treaty Organization (NATO) forces fighting in Afghani-
stan; 
Whereas the parties to the Rome Statute have failed to estab-
lish a definition of the ‘‘crime of aggression’’; 
Whereas the United States has at various times been accused 
of ‘‘aggression’’, including the Congressionally authorized 
use of military force against Iraq in 2003; 
Whereas the Rome Statute would subject United States citi-
zens and military personnel charged with crimes before 
the ICC to trial and punishment without the basic rights 
and protections provided to criminal defendants and 
guaranteed by the United States Constitution, including 
a right to a jury trial by one’s peers, protection from 
double jeopardy, the right to confront one’s accusers, and 
the right to a speedy trial; 
Whereas the first Review Conference on the Rome Statute 
will be held in Kampala, Uganda, from May 31, 2010, 
to June 11, 2010, to consider amendments to the Rome 
Statute and to take stock of its implementation and im-
pact; and 
Whereas the draft provisional agenda of the Review Con-
ference indicates that the Assembly of States Parties of 
the ICC has no intention of addressing the grave and 
persistent concerns of the United States regarding the 
Rome Statute: Now, therefore, be it 
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•HCON 265 IH 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the national interests of the United States 
are neither preserved nor advanced by becoming a 
State Party to the Rome Statute on the Inter-
national Criminal Court; 
(2) the Rome Statute undermines the sov-
ereignty of the United States, hinders its ability to 
defend itself and its allies with military force, and 
conflicts with the principles of the United States 
Constitution; 
(3) President Barack Obama should declare 
that the United States does not intend to ratify the 
Rome Statute and that the United States does not 
presently consider itself to be a signatory of the 
treaty; and 
(4) given that the Assembly of States Parties 
has no discernable intention of addressing United 
States concerns regarding the treaty, President 
Obama should neither attend nor send a delegation 
to the Review Conference of the Rome Statute in 
Kampala, Uganda, commencing on May 31, 2010. 
Æ 
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