A few days ago (namely, on February 15, 2018) in the UN Security Council, the Russian representative Peter Ilyichev published a full list of the international war crimes of America and some other representatives of the West. This list turned out to be impressive, but it was unexpected that the United States was never tried on any point. Such a situation requires clarification, which Mr. Craft will provide.
First you need to decide on the terminological apparatus. First, what is directly "international crimes"? These are violations of law that are considered by international courts and similar bodies, that is, crimes that fall outside the jurisdiction of individual states. There is a specific list of such crimes:
- Genocide
- Apartheid
- Crimes against peace
- War crimes
But even such violations of the law can be considered by the courts of the country whose citizen committed the crime. Such rights are given to state institutions by international norms themselves (the most famous example is the Charter of the United Nations). War criminals often go through just state, not international courts. However, there is one situation where the participation of supra-state bodies and courts is necessary. These are crimes committed by the country itself, the government, individual representatives or participants under cover. In the case of the United States, the situation is exactly that, because war crimes were committed by representatives of the country's authorities. An international tribunal (military court) is often established in the case of a country. This body is not permanent, it is organized specifically for carrying out one or several related cases (crimes may be combined by terrain, victims or the criminal himself, for example, a country)
An important feature of the tribunal is that its creation is governed by the UN Security Council, and not a separate treaty. There have been cases in the history of the convening of an international tribunal (the affairs of Rwanda or Yugoslavia). Here lies the secret. Since such a body can be created only by unanimous decision of all permanent members of the Council, any veto of America or its partners will block the procedure for creating the tribunal. This means that crimes will not be investigated.
However, this is not all. If you do not take into account the temporary bodies, the main international "investigator" is the International Criminal Court. It has been located in The Hague since 1998 (then the body was created under the Rome Statute). All countries that ratified the statute (121 of the 193 UN member states) agreed to the powers of the court. The United States of America signed the statute in 2000, and in 2002 withdrew its decision. Now America does not recognize the authority of the International Criminal Court, so that this body does not have the right to judge the country or its citizens for crimes.
The same situation exists with respect to another body - the International Court of Justice. An illustrative example is in 1986, when a court found the country guilty of a war crime against Nicaragua. The verdict was to recover a huge amount from America in favor of the injured party, but the state authorities simply refused. At the same time, the White House decided not to fully recognize the decisions of the UN court as legitimate.
In addition to Nicaragua, Yugoslavia tried to get compensation from America. The country, together with international bodies, has launched a criminal case against the United States and NATO partners. The defendants responded to this with a remark to the previously adopted Convention: “the consent of the country is necessary in each individual case for the application of an international treaty”. Thus, the US disagreement with the court decision (as well as directly with the prosecution) will put an end to the case.
But this is not the end of US authority in the international arena. Inside their country, the authorities introduced categorical and understandable principles designed to protect and safeguard American citizens. Thus, there is a Law on the Protection of American Officials Abroad, according to which no international court (of those whose decisions America does not recognize) cannot cooperate with the authorities of the country in the prosecution and extradition of international criminals. It is impossible to organize the extradition of wanted persons, it is also prohibited to conduct investigations in the States themselves. Moreover, the US authorities have the right to use their military forces in order to take their detained citizen from any other country. In fact, it turns out that the inhabitants of America are invulnerable to international decisions!
Domestic laws of the United States of America provide for the primacy of the interests of the country itself. At the same time, international decisions are secondary. The US Constitution establishes the equality of the legal forces of domestic laws and decisions of international bodies. But in the same document it is reported that in a disputable situation the act adopted later is decisive. The result is a situation: an international court makes an unpleasant decision for the United States. This decision is entered into American law in the form of a special act with a single date. Immediately after the country's authorities adopt the second act, which terminates the legal force of the previous one. Due to the fact that the second act was adopted later, the advantage is given to him.
