The United States has sanctioned the International Criminal Court (ICC), hours after one of its former judges was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in what the Nobel committee said was, in part, a show of support for institutions under attack. South African judge Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, who is currently a judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also in The Hague, was announced winner of the prize on Friday. Nobel Committee Chairman Jorgen Watne Frydnes said the system of international law was “under tremendous pressure” and its institutions were “under attack”.
Peace requires justice,” the committee said. The US move follows sanctions it has already imposed this year on judges and other personnel at the ICC. On Friday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the latest set of US sanctions targeting the ICC, this time focusing on the court itself, which was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity.
The Trump administration claims that the ICC has gone beyond its remit by pursuing non-member countries. In 2024, the Trump administration condemned the court when it issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for suspected war crimes in Gaza. It also previously opened an investigation into the actions of US soldiers in Afghanistan.
The US and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute, the treaty that establishes the court’s jurisdiction. However, abuses committed by citizens of non-statute states in ICC territories or countries can still be prosecuted. These sanctions are just the latest in the US’s campaign against the ICC.
Previous measures have targeted dozens of ICC judges and prosecutors, the UN special rapporteur for Palestine, Francesca Albanese, and Palestinian rights groups which have provided evidence of war crimes committed by Israel to the court. In August, ICC President Tomoko Akane and senior lawyer Abdoulaye Sey were also sanctioned by the US, in what Rubio said was the US’s unwavering mission to protect Americans from this sham of a court”. Any assets they hold in the US are frozen, and US companies are limited in conducting transactions with them.
The sanctions targeting the court could see companies that provide services to it penalised. They will also freeze any ICC assets held in US territories. However, they have given US companies a six-month grace period to wrap up any existing business with the court.
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