US sanctions International Criminal Court president and trial lawyer

The Trump administration has added the head of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and one of its senior lawyers to a list of sanctioned individuals.

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio framed the widening sanctions on Tuesday as part of his campaign to “dismantle” the ICC.

“The Trump Administration is sanctioning ICC President Tomoko Akane and Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye in our unwavering mission to protect Americans from this sham of a court,” Rubio wrote on social media.

“In honor of our Declaration of Independence, Americans will never be transported beyond seas to be tried for pretend offenses.”

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.

The sanctions freeze any assets they may have in the US and limit US-based entities from conducting transactions with them, starting on September 17.

Japan’s foreign ministry said the decision to sanction Akane and Seye was “very unfortunate.”

“Japan has consistently supported the ICC, which is a permanent international criminal court, in its efforts to prosecute and punish ‌the most serious crimes of concern to the international community,” Japan’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The US has sanctioned more than a dozen ICC judges and prosecutors, triggering a response from financial institutions that cuts them off from much of the international banking system.

It has also imposed financial restrictions on human rights groups and figures such as United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese, citing their cooperation with the ICC.

In June, three ICC judges sued the Trump administration over the sanctions, calling them an “arbitrary and capricious” means of curtailing the court’s judicial independence.

International legal order ‘at risk’

The ICC has denounced the Trump administration’s efforts as a means of eroding the rule of law.

“When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk,” the court said in a statement.

Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said on X that the Netherlands, which hosts the court, disapproved of the latest US sanctions and he had invited Akane to “discuss our continued support”.

“International courts and tribunals must be able to freely carry out their mandates,” Berendsen wrote.

The Trump administration, however, has argued that the ICC overstepped its authority by opening investigations into actions committed by the US and its close ally, Israel. Neither country is a member of the court, which is based in The Hague.

But proponents have argued that the court has jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute actions carried out in its 125 member states, even if the perpetrators fall outside its membership.

The court’s mandate is to investigate grievous international crimes, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In 2020, for instance, the ICC opened an inquiry into allegations of US war crimes in Afghanistan, where it had led a 20-year war that ended in 2021. More recently, in 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes during Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

In an X post on Tuesday evening, Netanyahu applauded the US sanctions and called the ICC “a kangaroo court that cloaks its abuse of power in the language of international law”.

US hints at more measures

The Trump administration has also protested against investigations into US and Israeli actions.

In July, Rubio issued a statement calling the court an “intolerable threat” to the countries’ sovereignty and pledging to dismantle it.

Several countries, including Chad and Venezuela, have since announced plans to withdraw from the ICC, with critics citing the US’s influence as a motivating factor.

But in Tuesday’s statement, Rubio doubled down on his criticism, hinting at more punitive measures to come.

“The Trump Administration has been clear: the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate,” he said. “We will not tolerate its assault on state sovereignty.”

Last week, four human rights groups 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.

One of the plaintiff groups, Human Rights Watch (HRW), issued a statement on Tuesday decrying the new sanctions.

The sanctions are “just the latest example of the Trump administration’s utter contempt for international law and a naked attempt to shield American and Israeli officials implicated in serious crimes from justice”, HRW’s Middle East and North Africa director Balkees Jarrah said.