Marco Rubio: The ICC claims it can investigate, prosecute, and imprison U.S. citizens under legal rules that the United States has never approved. Our verdict: True.

What we found

The evidence

• Background

  The Daily Caller reports that Marco Rubio said the ICC claims the power to investigate, prosecute and jail Americans under rules the United States never approved. [1]

• Supports the claim

  Just Security explains that the ICC asserts jurisdiction over nationals of non-party states when the conduct takes place on the territory of a state party, and that the US has not ratified the Rome Statute. [2]

• Supports the claim

  VOZ reports that the United States is a signatory to the Rome Statute but has not ratified it. [3]

• Background

  The Straits Times reports that Rubio said the ICC has appointed itself to judge and execute the international order even though Americans never agreed to submit to its authority. [4]

• Supports the claim

  The Atlantic Council states that the United States has not signed the Rome Statute. [5]

• Background

  The Council on Foreign Relations notes that the US government has officially characterised the ICC as claiming authority to prosecute and imprison US personnel. [6]

• Background

  The State Department records Marco Rubio saying the ICC claims jurisdiction over individuals from countries that are not members of the Rome Statute. [7]

• Supports the claim

  Oxford Public International Law explains that the ICC's jurisdiction can extend to non-party states such as the US through a UN Security Council referral under Article 13(b) of the Rome Statute. [8]

What we could not confirm

• The ICC's jurisdiction over US citizens is not universal. It applies only on specific legal bases, such as conduct on the territory of a state party or a UN Security Council referral. We did not assess how often either route has been used against US citizens.
• Our assessment relies on how the US government describes the ICC's claims, rather than on an independent review of ICC judicial rulings or the court's own statements.
• We did not evaluate whether the ICC's jurisdictional claims are lawful or legitimate under international law, only that the court makes them.
• The United States signed the Rome Statute before later withdrawing its signature, so it had some engagement with the treaty even though it never consented to be bound by it.

How we checked

We looked at the text of the Rome Statute, reporting and legal analysis on how the ICC's jurisdiction reaches non-party states, and official US government statements about the court. We also checked reports of Marco Rubio's speech and the State Department's own record of his remarks. We reviewed 11 relevant sources.