The United States has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court as an institution, a step beyond earlier U.S. penalties on individual judges and prosecutors, and the European Union is now weighing how to shield the Hague-based court.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the measures Friday, Oct. 9. "Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC," he said, according to Al Jazeera.
What the sanctions do
The sanctions block the court's property and interests in property in U.S. jurisdictions and restrict transactions by Americans and U.S. companies with the court, the Deseret News and Al Jazeera reported. Companies that provide services to the court could face penalties.
U.S. companies and individuals have six months to wind down their dealings with the court, according to the Deseret News and Euronews; the Deseret News said the wind-down is permitted under Treasury-issued licenses. Al Jazeera reported temporary exemptions for services such as maintenance, technology and pension plans. The State Department said the delay is meant to "provide time for States Parties to demonstrate meaningful progress on diplomatic and legal resolutions," Al Jazeera reported.
The court has about 900 staff members, Al Jazeera reported.
Ecker Geopolitics could not independently review the designation documents; the State Department's ICC sanctions page did not load at the time of writing.
Washington's case
The administration accuses the court of political bias and of unfairly targeting Americans and Israelis, Euronews reported. The United States never joined the court, and it is not a party to the Rome Statute that created it.
"America never joined the court. We don't need it. And we don't want it," Rubio said, according to the Deseret News. "President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans."
The administration cited the court's investigation into abuses in Afghanistan, which could implicate U.S. personnel, and its arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over the war in Gaza, Al Jazeera reported. Netanyahu's office welcomed the sanctions and called the court "a political body," Euronews reported.
The court and Europe push back
The ICC condemned the sanctions as an attack on the rule of law, Euronews reported, and said its work would continue. Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan said the measures "must be condemned," Al Jazeera reported. ICC President Tomoko Akane said the court would continue its mandate "with independence and impartiality," Euronews reported.
In a statement issued Saturday on behalf of the EU, the bloc said it "deeply regrets the announcement by the United States to impose sanctions against the Court as an institution," according to the text published by the Council of the EU. Euronews identified foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas as the statement's author. The statement said "the ICC does not target sovereign states" and that the EU "stands ready to take all the necessary measures to ensure that the Court continues to operate effectively." It urged Washington to reverse the measures, welcomed U.S. readiness to discuss its concerns with the court's member states, and said the delay before the measures take effect "creates space for diplomacy."
Euronews reported that the EU could activate a legal instrument known as the "blocking mechanism," which would prohibit European firms from complying with the U.S. sanctions. Dutch Prime Minister Rob Jetten, whose country hosts the court, said, "We will do whatever we need to defend the ICC," according to Euronews.
The Nobel timing
The announcement came hours after Navi Pillay, a South African jurist and former ICC judge, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Al Jazeera reported. Euronews reported that the sanctions decision was made well before the Nobel announcement.
Why it matters
For the administration, the sanctions are a sovereignty question: whether an international court the United States never joined can claim jurisdiction over Americans or U.S. allies. For European governments, the court is a pillar of the international legal order they helped build.
The move also adds another point of friction with European allies. If the EU invokes its blocking mechanism, European banks and companies could be caught between conflicting U.S. and European legal obligations.
What's next
The six-month wind-down sets up a window for talks between Washington and the court's member states. Watch for whether the EU formally triggers the blocking mechanism, how banks and tech vendors that serve the court respond, and whether the administration expands the designations further.