The United States of America and the International Criminal Court in Barack Obama Period: An Abstention or a Possibility

The relationship between the United States and the International Criminal Court is a combination of confrontation and tension in various aspects, including legal considerations, political, national and security concerns and strategic interests. The existing tensions in relationship with the International Criminal Court have accentuated at some points and the United States has actively challenged the Court's existence. However, the challenges didn’t last for a long time, and at the end of George W. Bush’s presidency– recognizing the inherent values and potentialities of creating an International Criminal Court and the necessity to keep it– confrontations and tensions faded in favor of a constructive interaction. In the years which passed– especially during the administration of Barack Obama– the attitudes and the positions of the US towards the International Criminal Court have experienced a fundamental and comprehensive change and the United States is trying to compensate for the past measures, and to increase the interactions and cooperation with the International Criminal Court and to recognize its existence and capacity as an important international judicial institution in prosecuting the international violent crimes and to restart the relations with the International Criminal Court.