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Bilateral non-surrender agreements in the context of the Convention on ‎the Law of Treaties and the Statute of the International Criminal Court

Articles in Press

Document Type : Article

Authors

1 MA. In International law, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

2 Associate Prof., Department of environmental Law, Faculty of law, Shahid Beheshti University, ‎Tehran, Iran‎

Abstract

To ensure that the jurisdiction of the ICC will not be exercised effectively over American nationals, the United States has entered into agreements with both member and non-member states of the Court, known as “Bilateral Non-Surrender Agreements”. Under the prevailing type of these agreements, each contracting state agrees will not surrender nationals of the other party to the ICC upon a request for surrender of the accused, unless expressly consented to by the other contracting state. The USA justifies and prescribes the conclusion of these agreements specifically under Article 98(2) of the Rome Statute. However, many legal writings argue that, fundamentally, these agreements are invalid according to the rules of the VCLT 1969 and they are incompatible with the provisions of the Rome Statute, particularly Article 98(2). The present research, which aims to evaluate the validity statements mentioned, has made an effort to not only assess the validity of the aforementioned agreements but also examine their compliance with the provisions of the Rome Statute. By providing a comprehensive legal analysis, this article has argued and substantiated that despite the fact that non-surrender agreements are valid under international law, they are not fully aligned with the statute of the Court.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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    1. C) Cases
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    D)Theses

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    1. E) Documents
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    Refereces in Persian:

    1. A) Books
    1. Beigzadeh, E. (2019). Lessons on Public International Law 2. Tehran: Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University. (in Persian)
    2. Falsafi, H. (2016). Law of International Treaties. 5th edition, Tehran: Nashr-e-Now Publications. (in Persian)
    3. Kittichaisaree, K. (2004). International Criminal Law. translated by Behnam Yousefian and Mohammad Esmaeili, 1st edition, Tehran: Samt Publications. (in Persian)
    4. Mirabbasi, S. B. (2010). Public International Law. Vol. I, Tehran: 1st edition, Mizan Publications. (in Persian)
    5. Musazadeh, R. (2010). International Organizations Law: Law of the Security Council. 1st edition, Tehran: Mizan Publications. (in Persian)
    6. Wallace, R., & Ortega, O. M. (2017). International Law, translated by Seyyed Ghasem Zamani and Mahnaz Bahramloo, 6th edition, Tehran: Shahr-e-Danesh Publications. (in Persian)
    7. Ziyayi Bigdeli, M. R. (2011). Public International Law. 40th edition, Tehran: Ganj-e-Danesh Publications. (in Persian)
    8. Ziyayi Bigdeli, M. R. (2013). International Treaty Law. 5th edition, Tehran: Ganj-e-Danesh Publications. (in Persian)
    9. Ziyayi Bigdeli, M. R. (2018). Law of War; International Law of Armed Conflicts. 5th edition, Tehran: Allameh Tabataba'i University Publications. (in Persian)

     

    1. B) Articles
    2. Beigzadeh, E. (2003). Challenges of International Criminal Court. Foreign Policy Quarterly, 17(2), 357-372. (in Persian)
    3. Delkhosh, A. (2011). States' Commitment to Cooperation with the International Criminal Court (General Regulations). Legal Research Quarterly, 13(32), 113-172. (in Persian)
    4. Goldouzian, I., & Marjani, M. (2019). Capacities and Mechanisms for the Extradition of Criminals in the United Nations Convention against Corruption. Justice Monthly Magazine, 25(138), 18-26. (in Persian)
    5. Khandagh, N. (2009). America and the International Criminal Court. Defense Policy Journal, (68), 65-89. (in Persian)
    6. Momtaz, J., & Akbari, M. (2016). America and the International Criminal Court: Swinger Policy, from Confrontation to Interaction. Strategic Quarterly Journal, 25(78), 29-61. (in Persian)
    7. Ramezani Ghavamabadi, M. H. (2018). The Presence of Defendants and it’s Exceptions in the International Criminal Court. Criminal Law Research Journal, 9, (2), 155-182. (in Persian)
    8. Zamani, G. (2002). Establishment of the International Criminal Court: Fears and Hopes. Legal Research Journal, (2), 59-78. (in Persian)
    9. Zamani, G., & Ya'qubi, E (2019). The European Union and the International Criminal Court: Symbolic Cooperation and Support. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Research, (13), 5-31. (in Persian)

     

    1. C) Theses
    2. Mohagheghdoust, A. (2021). Bilateral Agreements and Limitation of the International Criminal Court’s Jurisdictiona. Master's Thesis, International Law, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University. (in Persian)
    3. Sobhani, M. (2008). Obstacles to Impunity Eradication. Master's Thesis, International Law, Faculty of Law, Shahid Beheshti University. (in Persian)
Public Law Studies Quarterly

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 21 March 2026
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  • Receive Date: 27 October 2023
  • Revise Date: 26 February 2024
  • Accept Date: 06 May 2024
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