UK seeks ICC deal with US

The US wants blanket immunity for its troops

The United States this morning finds itself in the dock, charged in the court of public opinion with wrecking a new system of international justice.

The Bush administration has refused to ratify the ICC - the International Criminal Court - which comes into existence today: those who support the idea of the court argue that American resistance to it could also lead to the collapse of UN peace-keeping operations in Bosnia.

Approval for those operations has to be renewed every six months, and the deadline for the Bosnian mandate was last night: but after lengthy wrangling, the US vetoed the renewal, because it says its soldiers on peace-keeping duty could in future end up charged with war-crimes by the ICC.

Quite simply, it will not endorse the ICC unless its forces have a blanket immunity from prosecution.

The International Development Secretary, Clare Short has already been openly critical of the US position: but is the criticism fair? And might Britain be on the wrong side of this argument?

We speak to Bernard Jenkin, the Shadow Defence Secretary, the Balkans expert, Misha Glenny and Richard Dicker of Human Rights Watch, one of the strongest proponents of the ICC.

Click on the links above right to hear more.