(Reuters) - US President Donald Trump's administration imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court on Friday, hours after one of its former judges won the Nobel Peace Prize, putting Washington on a diplomatic collision course with European allies.
The court denounced the move as an "assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order," and called on its 125 member states to take action to defend it.
"The Court cannot stand alone. Its fate now rests also in the hands of the states that created it," it said in a statement. "This is not just about defending a single institution, but about safeguarding the international order grounded upon the rule of law. History will judge this moment."
The Trump administration has long been hostile to the court, founded in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, and has previously imposed sanctions on its prosecutors and judges.
Friday's move goes much further, potentially punishing companies that provide services to the court itself, amounting to an unprecedented attack on an institution founded on an international treaty. The US initially signed the Rome Statute that founded the court but never ratified it.
"President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, first published by Reuters.
"That is why, today, the United States is sanctioning the International Criminal Court. We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate."
SANCTIONS INCLUDE GRACE PERIOD
The US Treasury announced the sanctions with a six-month initial grace period, and some other exemptions that would allow some transactions for telecoms, software, payment of pensions and transactions related to detainees.
Rubio said the sanctions had been structured to give the court and its member states an opportunity to address US concerns, and would be adjusted if those demands were not met.
Washington has denounced the ICC over arrest warrants issued for Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and an investigation into actions of US soldiers in Afghanistan, which the ICC says is "deprioritized."
Rubio in his statement cited calls from outside experts for the ICC to prosecute American service members, border patrol agents and elected leaders. ICC officials have not taken steps toward such prosecutions.
"The sanctions are intended to undermine the rule of law internationally and the work that an independent judicial institution is doing," ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan told Reuters. "Our work will continue across all our situations, our investigations and our prosecutions."
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on social media that the six-month period "offers a window for dialogue" but added that the bloc "has options to ensure that (the ICC) can continue its vital work." Belgium's foreign minister called for an EU blocking statute to be activated to protect the court.
The ICC has issued arrest warrants against more than 70 people, including world leaders and major figures in global conflicts. In addition to Netanyahu, it has sought the arrest of Hamas figures. Others who were the subject of arrest warrants include Russian President Vladimir Putin, former Sudan President Omar al-Bashir and former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Charges against Kenyan President William Ruto and former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta were withdrawn.
NOBEL COMMITTEE CITES POLITICAL ATTACKS IN AWARDING PRIZE
Despite US calls for countries to quit the court, it has received strong backing from most member states, which include all EU countries and all members of the NATO alliance apart from the United States and Turkey. It is based in the Netherlands, an EU and NATO member.
The Nobel Prize awarded hours earlier to South African jurist Navi Pillay, who sat on the ICC's Appeals Chamber from 2003-2008, was explicitly described by the prize committee as a gesture of support for such tribunals at a time when "judges and institutions of international law are under political attack".
"An international legal system in which war criminals are held to account and the victims of abuse see justice served is a precondition for a peaceful world," the prize committee said.
US sanctions typically bar all US-based companies from any work with a sanctioned organization, forcing banks to shut accounts, insurers to end coverage and software companies to halt cooperation.
The Trump administration previously imposed targeted sanctions on court officials during his first term, which were rescinded under President Joe Biden. Washington announced new sanctions just days after Trump returned to office in January 2025.
Court officials have been preparing for months for the prospect of sanctions on the court itself, shifting office computers from Microsoft software to open-source equivalents and making new arrangements for banking and health insurance.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Steve Holland and Anthony Deutsch; Additional reporting by Stephanie van den Berg and Simon Lewis; Editing by Peter Graff and Jon Boyle)
