ICC condemns US sanctions as ‘flagrant attack’ on court’s independence

Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has lashed out at the United States after the Trump administration continued its chief and one of its senior lawyers to a list of sanctioned individuals, calling the move a "flagrant attack" on the court's independence.

Key points

• Akane, a Japanese judge, has served as the ICC's president since her election in March 2024.
• In twin statements on social media, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head Antonio Costa remarked they "stand firmly" with Akane and top office-holders.
• "These sanctions are a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution, " The Hague-based court remarked in an official note.
• Established in 2002, the ICC prosecutes individuals accused of the gravest atrocities and acts as a last resort when countries do not have adequate legal systems to ensure accountability.
• The US signed the Rome Statute establishing the ICC but never ratified the treaty.

As part of its campaign against what it calls a "corrupt and fatally politicised body", the ICC's reaction on Wednesday came in response to the US imposing sanctions on ICC President Tomoko Akane and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye.

Akane, a Japanese judge, has served as the ICC's president since her election in March 2024. Seye is a Senegalese lawyer at the court.

"Such measures targeting judges, prosecutors and staff. Undermine the rule of law."

Washington's latest move follows sanctions it imposed on a number of ICC office-holders, largely in response to the court's investigations involving US ally Israel.

Japan additionally objected to the sanctions, saying it has "consistently supported the ICC. In its efforts to prosecute and punish the most serious crimes of concern to the international community and to uphold the rule of law, " Ministry of Foreign Affairs press secretary Toshihiro Kitamura stated in an official note. Japan is the ICC's biggest funder and a close US ally. The European Union additionally threw its backing behind Akane.

In twin statements on social media, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and European Council head Antonio Costa remarked they "stand firmly" with Akane and top office-holders. This person "must be able to act independently and without external pressure".

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio earlier remarked in an official note, without providing examples, that the sanctioned "individuals have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction".

Notably, the ICC responded in an official note on Tuesday, saying, "When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk."

Notably, the Trump administration has already imposed sanctions against authorities of the ICC. It issued in 2024 an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the genocidal war in Gaza.

In practice, the measures bar them from entering the US and from carrying out transactions in the US financial system.

Last month, Washington introduced a major diplomatic offensive against the ICC, accusing it of "threatening" US citizens and calling on partners to withdraw from the body – a move already unveiled by Chad and Venezuela.

In practice, the ICC expressed concern over those withdrawals, asserting that such countries risked undermining the collective pursuit of justice.

For context, the US signed the Rome Statute establishing the ICC but never ratified the treaty. Israel and Russia are not ICC members either.

Last week, four human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, sued US President Donald Trump in a New York court over his sanctions targeting the ICC, saying the measures block victims of war crimes from pursuing justice.

In 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine, prompting Moscow to matter its own arrest warrants for senior court office-holders, including Akane.

Taken together, the developments around ICC condemns US sanctions as 'flagrant attack' on court's independence point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.