ICC says US sanctions undermine rule of law

The International Criminal Court said US sanctions against ICC officials “undermine the rule of law,” after Washington imposed measures on court president Tomoko Akane and Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye.

The United States imposed the sanctions on Tuesday in its latest action against the Hague-based court. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Akane, who is from Japan, and Seye, who is from Senegal, had “directly engaged” in ICC efforts to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute officials whose governments had not accepted the court's jurisdiction.

Rubio called the ICC a “corrupt and fatally politicized” court. The measures bar Akane and Seye from entering the United States and from transactions in the US financial system.

The ICC, established in 2002, prosecutes individuals accused of the gravest atrocities when national legal systems are unable or unwilling to do so. The United States is not a party to the treaty that created the court and has already imposed sanctions on several ICC officials.

The US action is largely linked to ICC investigations involving Israel, a US ally. In 2024, the court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the war in Gaza.

Washington last month launched a diplomatic campaign against the ICC, accusing it of threatening Americans and urging partners to withdraw from the court. Chad and Venezuela are among the countries that have announced such a move.

Four human rights groups sued President Donald Trump in a New York court last week over his sanctions targeting the ICC, saying the measures block victims of war crimes from pursuing justice.