22 USC 7422 – Waiver and termination of prohibitions of this subchapter
(a) Authority to initially waive section 7424
The President is authorized to waive the prohibitions and requirements of section 7424 of this title for a single period of 1 year. A waiver under this subsection may be issued only if the President at least 15 days in advance of exercising such authority—
(1) notifies the appropriate congressional committees of the intention to exercise such authority; and
(2) determines and reports to the appropriate congressional committees that the International Criminal Court has entered into a binding agreement that—
(A) prohibits the International Criminal Court from seeking to exercise jurisdiction over the following persons with respect to actions undertaken by them in an official capacity:
(i) covered United States persons;
(ii) covered allied persons; and
(iii) individuals who were covered United States persons or covered allied persons; and
(B) ensures that no person described in subparagraph (A) will be arrested, detained, prosecuted, or imprisoned by or on behalf of the International Criminal Court.
(b) Authority to extend waiver of section 7424
Terms Used In 22 USC 7422
- appropriate congressional committees: means the Committee on International Relations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. See 22 USC 7432
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- covered allied persons: means 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, Jordan, Argentina, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand), or Taiwan, for so long as that government is not a party to the International Criminal Court and wishes its officials and other persons working on its behalf to be exempted from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. See 22 USC 7432
- covered United States persons: means 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, for so long as the United States is not a party to the International Criminal Court. See 22 USC 7432
- individual: shall include every infant member of the species homo sapiens who is born alive at any stage of development. See 1 USC 8
- International Criminal Court: means the court established by the Rome Statute. See 22 USC 7432
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- party to the International Criminal Court: means a government that has deposited an instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval, or accession to the Rome Statute, and has not withdrawn from the Rome Statute pursuant to Article 127 thereof. See 22 USC 7432
- Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
The President is authorized to waive the prohibitions and requirements of section 7424 of this title for successive periods of 1 year each upon the expiration of a previous waiver pursuant to subsection (a) or this subsection. A waiver under this subsection may be issued only if the President at least 15 days in advance of exercising such authority—
(1) notifies the appropriate congressional committees of the intention to exercise such authority; and
(2) determines and reports to the appropriate congressional committees that the International Criminal Court—
(A) remains party to, and has continued to abide by, a binding agreement that—
(i) prohibits the International Criminal Court from seeking to exercise jurisdiction over the following persons with respect to actions undertaken by them in an official capacity:
(I) covered United States persons;
(II) covered allied persons; and
(III) individuals who were covered United States persons or covered allied persons; and
(ii) ensures that no person described in clause (i) will be arrested, detained, prosecuted, or imprisoned by or on behalf of the International Criminal Court; and
(B) has taken no steps to arrest, detain, prosecute, or imprison any person described in clause (i) of subparagraph (A).
(c) Authority to waive sections 7423 and 7425 with respect to an investigation or prosecution of a named individual
The President is authorized to waive the prohibitions and requirements of sections 7423 and 7425 of this title to the degree such prohibitions and requirements would prevent United States cooperation with an investigation or prosecution of a named individual by the International Criminal Court. A waiver under this subsection may be issued only if the President at least 15 days in advance of exercising such authority—
(1) notifies the appropriate congressional committees of the intention to exercise such authority; and
(2) determines and reports to the appropriate congressional committees that—
(A) a waiver pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of the prohibitions and requirements of section 7424 of this title is in effect;
(B) there is reason to believe that the named individual committed the crime or crimes that are the subject of the International Criminal Court’s investigation or prosecution;
(C) it is in the national interest of the United States for the International Criminal Court’s investigation or prosecution of the named individual to proceed; and
(D) in investigating events related to actions by the named individual, none of the following persons will be investigated, arrested, detained, prosecuted, or imprisoned by or on behalf of the International Criminal Court with respect to actions undertaken by them in an official capacity:
(i) Covered United States persons.
(ii) Covered allied persons.
(iii) Individuals who were covered United States persons or covered allied persons.
(d) Termination of waiver pursuant to subsection (c)
Any waiver or waivers exercised pursuant to subsection (c) of the prohibitions and requirements of sections 7423 and 7425 of this title shall terminate at any time that a waiver pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of the prohibitions and requirements of section 7424 of this title expires and is not extended pursuant to subsection (b).
(e) Termination of prohibitions of this subchapter
The prohibitions and requirements of sections 7423, 7424, and 7425 of this title shall cease to apply, and the authority of section 7427 of this title shall terminate, if the United States becomes a party to the International Criminal Court pursuant to a treaty made under article II, section 2, clause 2 of the Constitution of the United States.