The bill includes provisions that prohibit U.S. cooperation with the ICC, restrict U.S. participation in U.N. peacekeeping, prohibit sharing the U.S intelligence with the ICC and prohibit military assistance to most countries that ratify the ICC Rome Statute. It also authorizes the president to use "all means necessary and appropriate" to free from captivity members of the Armed Forces of the United States or allied personnel detained or imprisoned by or on behalf of the ICC. Included in that label is the military invasion of ICC, which will be headquartered in the Netherlands--in the event that Americans are held there. President Bush is expected to sign the bill.

A section of the ASPA gives the president authority to waive certain anti-ICC prohibitions and requirements mandated by the legislation. If used, they could render the legislation void, thus allowing for cooperation with the ICC.

Another section, using the language authored by Senator Christopher Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, allows the U.S. to assist international efforts in bringing war criminals to justice. "Nothing in this title shall prohibit the United States from rendering assistance to international efforts to bring to justice Saddam Hussein, Slobodan Milosevic, Osama bin Laden, other members of Al Qaeda, leaders of Islamic Jihad, and other foreign nationals accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity," the section says.

According to ICC supporters, many of America's allies objected to the ASPA. The bill is commonly known worldwide as "The Hague Invasion Act," since it authorizes the president to use force against the Netherlands.

Bill Pace, Convenor of the Coalition for the International Criminal Court said that "the U.S. demanded special exemptions from ICC jurisdiction for its personnel because of its military power and its leadership in the world. It was a proposal that could not have been accepted."

Pace emphasized that no one should be granted immunity from the ICC jurisdiction, no matter who they are. "These are crimes considered an assault on dignity of human kind and all governments should be held accountable," Pace said.

ICC is the first permanent and independent court mandated to investigate and bring to justice individuals who commit the most serious violations of international humanitarian law, when countries themselves cannot or will not prosecute the crimes, namely war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

The ICC went into force on July 1, 2002, when the Rome Statute on which it is based achieved the 60 ratifications necessary to bring the court into effect. Treaty ratifications have since risen to 76.

Pace said that the UN Secretary General Kofi A. Annan invited the 76 states to convene at the Assembly of the State Parties to be held from September 3 to September 10, 2002 at the United Nations to agree on a budget, procedures and to nominate judges. The elections will be held next February and the inauguration will follow in March, according to Pace.