Article

Jus in bello futura ignotus : the United States, the International Criminal Court, and the uncertain future of the law of armed conflict

James T. Hill

• Military law review Vol. 223, issue 3, 2015, p. 672-725

English

This article argues that the International Criminal Court (ICC)'s broad jurisdictional reach and statutory framework position the court to fundamentally transform the law of armed conflict (LOAC) without regard to the interests of States. The article first explains how the Rome Statute elevates its provisions, and ICC judicial interpretations thereof, above conflicting national law, rendering service members vulnerable to charges of war crimes arising out of a legitimate use of force under domestic law. It then analyzes two subject areas where conflicts between the Rome Statute and U.S. law may already render U.S. commanders vulnerable to ICC war crimes charges. It offers the ICC Pre-Trial Chambers decision in Prosecutor v. Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombolo as a case study of how the ICC, acting in concert with non-state actors, can transform the LOAC. Finally, it explains why the ICC's development of the LOAC will inevitably run afoul of the interests of States generally, and the implications thereof for the battlefield.

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• Military law review / The Judge Advocate General's School, U.S. Army
• Military law review [Vol. 223, Issue 3, 2015] / The Judge Advocate General's School, U.S. Army