The International Criminal Court (ICC) on August 19 criticized the United States after Washington imposed sanctions on its president Tomoko Akane, calling it a “flagrant attack” on the court’s independence.
The United States on August 18 imposed sanctions on Akane from Japan and senior ICC judicial official Abdoulaye Seye from Senegal. These measures are part of Washington’s campaign against the ICC, which it calls a “corrupt and fatally politicized” body.
The court, based in The Hague, stated that “these sanctions are a flagrant attack on the independence of an impartial judicial institution”. The ICC added that such measures targeting judges, prosecutors, and staff undermine the rule of law.
This move by Washington is a continuation of previously imposed sanctions against several ICC officials, largely in response to the court’s investigation into Israel, a US ally.
Reaction from Japan and the Netherlands
Japan also expressed objections to the sanctions, stating that the country “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”. Foreign Ministry spokesman Toshihiro Kitamura noted in a statement: “From this point of view, the announced measures are very regrettable”. Japan is the largest donor to the ICC and a close ally of the United States. The United States itself is not a party to the international treaty that established the court.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously stated, without providing examples, that the sanctioned “individuals were directly involved in the ICC’s efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government had not consented to the ICC’s jurisdiction”. In response to the statement on August 18, the ICC noted that “when judicial officials are threatened for applying the law, the international legal order itself is under threat”.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has previously imposed sanctions on ICC officials who in 2024 issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the war in Gaza. These measures prohibit them from entering the United States and conducting transactions in the US financial system. In a post on platform X late in the evening on August 18, Netanyahu approved the US sanctions and called the ICC a “kangaroo court that covers up its abuse of power with the language of international law”.
The Netherlands, where the court is located in The Hague, “does not approve of the recent sanctions against ICC officials and staff”, wrote Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen in a post on X. He added that “international courts and tribunals must be able to freely carry out their mandates”.
Further pressure on the ICC
In July, Washington launched a major diplomatic offensive against the ICC, accusing it of “threatening” Americans and urging partners to withdraw from the body. Chad and Venezuela, which has moved closer to the US after the capture and removal of leader Nicolas Maduro, have already announced their withdrawal. The ICC expressed concern over these withdrawals, stating that such countries risk undermining the collective pursuit of justice.
The United States signed the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, but never ratified the treaty. Israel, Russia, and China are also not members of the ICC. In a statement, Rubio said: “The Trump administration has made it clear: The International Criminal Court is a corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has abused its power and exceeded its mandate. We will not tolerate its assault on state sovereignty”.
Last week, four human rights groups sued Trump in a New York court over his sanctions targeting the ICC, stating that these measures block victims of war crimes from accessing justice. One of the plaintiff groups, Human Rights Watch, condemned the new sanctions. The organization’s Middle East and North Africa director Balkis Jarrah stated that the sanctions are “just the latest example of the Trump administration’s utter disregard for international law and a blatant attempt to shield American and Israeli officials involved in serious crimes from justice”.
In 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine, prompting Moscow to issue its own arrest warrants for high-ranking court officials. Among them was Akane, 70, who has been an ICC judge since 2018 and was elected president of the court in March 2024. After Russia issued arrest warrants for ICC officials, it stated: “Even if one judge dies, we can easily be replaced, so there is no point in targeting us”.
Source: The Straits Times
