Trump administration hits International Criminal Court with sweeping sanctions

The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands.

Photo: The Associated Press / Peter Dejong

The Trump administration has imposed sweeping new sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) as part of its campaign to dismantle the tribunal that the United States believes has become politicized and attempted to unfairly and illegally prosecute Americans and Israelis on war crimes charges (new window).

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the sanctions on Friday, after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded (new window) to South African prosecutor Navi Pillay, a former judge at the ICC and other international courts.

U.S. President Donald Trump has coveted that prize for himself. The move, however, long predated the Nobel Prize announcement.

We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate against us, Rubio said in a video address posted to social media. The United States and the American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this fake ICC.

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The sanctions block any assets that the ICC as an institution might have in U.S. jurisdictions and set a six-month timeline for U.S. companies and individuals that have business with the court to wind that business down.

Rubio said both Republicans and Democrats have deep reservations about the court, which was established to prosecute war crimes and crimes against humanity that might not otherwise be handled by the parties involved.

But he said that only Trump was willing to move against the court.

Both parties agree on this, but only President Trump has the resolve to take the action needed to end this threat once and for all, Rubio said. Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.

ICC denounces 'assault on rule of law'

The ICC denounced the step as an attack on the rule of law and the foundations of international order, themes that Rubio had appeared to embrace only two days ago in a speech in front of the Acropolis in Athens.

It is an attempt to obstruct the course of justice and to prevent the court from doing what it was created to do, the court said in a statement. It is an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order which strikes at the simple principle that no one stands above the law.

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ICC President Tomoko Akane, a citizen of U.S. ally Japan, said the court would continue to fully discharge its mandate, with independence and impartiality, acting only on the basis of the law and the evidence, for the sake of the countless victims of grave crimes.

She also appealed to other ICC members for support. This is not just about defending a single institution, but about safeguarding the international order grounded upon the rule of law.

Rubio had said that the U.S. expects its allies to join in the actions against the ICC. Those include many NATO members in Europe and Japan.

If they do not, the United States will continue its campaign to dismantle the ICC, piece by piece, until Americans are threatened no longer, he said.

Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen, posting on X, called the sanctions announcement a deeply regrettable step. We stand firm in defence of the court.

He said the six-month window before the sanctions take effect creates scope for dialogue.

As host state of the court, the Netherlands is a strong defender of the ICC.