ICC Says US Sanctions on Its President and Prosecutor 'Undermine Rule of Law'

The International Criminal Court (ICC) condemned on Tuesday the United States' decision to impose sanctions on two of its most senior officials, warning that such actions endanger the global rule of law. In a statement sent to reporters, the court said that threatening judicial actors for carrying out their legal duties puts the entire international legal order at risk.

Earlier that day, Washington sanctioned ICC President Tomoko Akane of Japan, part of an ongoing US campaign against a court it accuses of being politicised. The US also imposed sanctions on senior ICC trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal. This marks the latest move by the Trump administration against the court, following earlier sanctions on other ICC judges tied to investigations involving Israel.

The Hague-based court responded that measures targeting judges, prosecutors and staff fulfilling the mandate given to it by member states undermine the rule of law. The ICC said it remains undeterred and stands firmly behind its personnel and behind victims of what it called unimaginable atrocities.

Ongoing Dispute With Washington

The United States is not a party to the treaty that established the ICC and has already sanctioned several of its officials in the past. The sanctions bar those targeted from entering the US and from conducting transactions within the US financial system.

The measures are largely seen as a response to ICC investigations targeting Israel, a close US ally. In 2024, the court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the war in Gaza.