In September 2018, then U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton delivered a speech that ushered in a new, more aggressive era of U.S. foreign policy vis-à-vis the International Criminal Court (icc). Washington’s disapprobation over the icc’s interest in the alleged crimes of U.S. personnel in Afghanistan has been seen as the cause for this change. While this is certainly partly true, little attention has been paid to Fatou Bensouda’s prosecutorial behaviour as an explanatory factor. Using the framework from David Bosco’s Rough Justice, this article demonstrates that a distinct shift in prosecutorial behaviour occurred when Fatou Bensouda took over as Chief Prosecutor. In contrast to Luis Moreno Ocampo’s strategic approach, avoidant of U.S. interests, Bensouda’s apolitical approach directly challenged the U.S. This shift in prosecutorial behaviour ruptured the ‘mutual accommodation’ that previously characterised the icc-U.S. relationship and, in turn, produced the shift in U.S. policy that now marginalises the Court.

2018年9月，当时的美国国家安全顾问约翰·博尔顿（John Bolton）发表讲话，迎来了美国外交政策相对于国际刑事法院（icc）的新的，更具侵略性的时代。华盛顿对国际商会对涉嫌在阿富汗的美国人员犯罪的兴趣持反对态度，这被认为是这一变化的原因。尽管这在一定程度上是正确的，但很少有人关注法图·本苏达（Fato Bensouda）的起诉行为作为解释性因素。使用大卫·博斯科（David Bosco）的《Rough Justice》框架，本文证明，法塔图·本苏达（Fato Bensouda）接任首席检察官后，检察行为发生了明显变化。与避免美国利益的路易斯·莫雷诺·奥坎波（Luis Moreno Ocampo）的战略方针形成鲜明对比，本苏达的非政治方针直接挑战了美国。起诉行为的转变打破了以前以icc- US关系为特征的“相互适应”，进而在美国产生了这种转变。现在使法院边缘化的政策。