The International Criminal Court has denounced U.S. sanctions targeting its top officials as actions that “undermine the rule of law,” following Washington’s imposition of measures against its president. In a statement released Tuesday, the court emphasized that judicial actors face “attempts to intimidate” them for executing their duties, a development it warned jeopardizes the integrity of international legal norms.
The U.S. Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on ICC President Tomoko Akane of Japan and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal as part of its ongoing opposition to the court’s operations, which it has labeled “politicized.”
“When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk,” the court stated, underscoring its commitment to “standing firmly behind its personnel and victims of unimaginable atrocities.”
As a non-signatory to the Rome Statute establishing the ICC, the United States has previously sanctioned multiple court officials in response to investigations into actions in conflict zones, including the Gaza Strip. In 2024, the court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes during the conflict in Gaza, prompting heightened U.S. pushback.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)