this post was submitted on 30 Apr 2024
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Yeah. The ICC and ICJ are very different.
The ICJ is basically just a fact-finding body, to inform actions that nations might want to take with their police or military or just to make things plain with proof in a hard-to-argue-with way. It's a good thing, but because it's mostly toothless on its own, people leave it alone.
The ICC has a lot more bite behind it. An ICC arrest warrant means any signatory country is obligated to take the subject into custody if they set foot in the country. It's well up far enough into the "might makes right" territory of world politics that it's not real clear what would happen if they issued a warrant for Netanyahu, but it's clearly enough of a big deal that people on the pro-war-criminal side are worried about it. And there's precedent; people as big as Henry Kissinger have been grabbed and hauled in front of a judge in the past so it's not like being a US friend is a get out of jail free card.
The US was taking steps towards agreeing to the ICC until Bush 2 got into office and killed the whole thing. If you want a fascinating story about the whole thing, watch "Prosecuting Evil" (mostly about Nuremberg but deals with the ICC at the end). In it, Robert McNamara (!) calls up Ben Ferencz and says he wants to throw his support behind the ICC.
Ferencz sort of gets shocked and says, I don't think that's a good idea for you. If this thing goes through you might be on the short list of people they go after for what you did in Vietnam.
McNamara says yeah. That's why I want to do it. All those things I did, I never would have done if I knew it was illegal. I think we should have laws for these things. So if I can make it happen I want to.
And there's a little bit of silence, and Ferencz says okay then. If you're sure, then I'd be glad of the help.