US sanctions entire International Criminal Court in The Hague

(Oct. 9, 2026/ JNS)

The Trump administration enforced sanctions on the International Criminal Court, an independent judicial body in The Hague, in its totality on Friday.

The relocation constructs on an executive order that U.S. President Donald Trump signed quickly after the start of his 2nd term, which was formerly utilized to enforce sanctions on private judges and district attorneys of the legal body, which is not part of the United Nations.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio implicated the ICC of continuing to attempt to prosecute U.S. residents and stated that the objective of the sanctions was “debilitating its capability to run”

“Our message is clear. The United States and its individuals are exempt to the jurisdiction of the ICC,” Rubio stated. “Either the ICC will end its risks, or we will end the ICC. We anticipate our allies, a lot of whom belong to the ICC which count on American service members for their defense, to check the court.”

“If they do not, the United States will continue its project to take apart the ICC, brick by brick, up until Americans are threatened no longer,” he stated.

The ICC is an independent legal body developed by the 1998 Rome Statute that is meant to prosecute people for war criminal activities, genocide, criminal offenses versus mankind and the criminal offense of hostility.

The United States is not a celebration to the Rome Statute and has actually long challenged the court’s jurisdiction to examine or prosecute U.S. residents for supposed or possible criminal activities in dispute zones. It has actually likewise challenged the ICC’s efforts to prosecute U.S. allies that are not celebration to the statute, like Israel.

Previous administrations have actually nevertheless complied with the court in locations where the United States thinks that it has jurisdiction, as when the Biden Administration shared proof of Russian war criminal activities in Ukraine in 2023.

The ICC stated on Friday that it “highly declines” the U.S. sanctions.

“The court will continue to totally release its required, with self-reliance and impartiality, acting just on the basis of the law and the proof, for the sake of the many victims of serious criminal offenses,” specified its president Tomoko Akane.

Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom likewise provided a joint declaration in assistance of the court.

“We are sorry for and highly disagree with the statement of sanctions to be enforced upon the court by the United States,” the nations specified. “We will continue to interact to support the court’s crucial work, support the rules-based global system and advance responsibility.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for whom the ICC provided an arrest warrant in 2024, thanked Trump and Rubio for the sanctions action.

“The ICC is not a court,” Netanyahu composed“It is a political body that presents a mortal danger to obedient democracies around the world and to the really concept of nationwide sovereignty.”

The U.S. Department of the Treasury provided 180-day basic licenses on Friday for the court to continue “upkeep of its operations,” efficiently offering it till April to satisfy U.S. needs for reform before the sanctions work.

Rubio stated that the Trump administration continues to “hold out hope for a diplomatic service.”

“We have actually structured this action to offer a chance for states celebrations to work out and provide an option to resolve our issues,” he stated. “If these efforts do not flourish, we will continue to change appropriately.”