Washington: The United States has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court, extending measures from individual officials to the institution itself, according to the US Treasury Department.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the United States would ban transactions with the court. "We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate," Rubio said in a statement. "President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans. America never joined the court. We don't need it. And we don't want it."

The court was added to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, subjecting it to US asset-blocking sanctions and restrictions on transactions involving US persons. Alongside the designation, the Treasury issued four general licenses authorizing certain transactions involving the ICC, including a 180-day authorization for activities necessary to maintain its operations, as well as exemptions covering information technology services, the court's pension plan, and activities related to ICC detainees.

The ICC strongly rejected the sanctions, saying they constitute "an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order which strikes at the simple principle that no one stands above the law." The court vowed the designation would not deter it from carrying out its mandate. ICC President Tomoko Akane affirmed that the court "will not be deterred" and will continue to discharge its mandate with independence and impartiality.

The designation follows earlier US sanctions against ICC officials under an executive order signed by Trump in February 2025. To date, the United States has imposed sanctions on over a dozen persons, including ICC President Tomoko Akane of Japan. The Trump administration has accused the ICC of improperly asserting jurisdiction over the United States and Israel, neither of which is a party to the Rome Statute. Tensions surged after the tribunal issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the Gaza conflict.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the sanctions, describing them as "a serious blow to our collective pursuit of international criminal justice, of which the ICC is a key pillar." UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk called the sanctions "unacceptable," warning against allowing them to have a chilling effect on those working with the court. The EU described the sanctions as "deeply regrettable," while the foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the Netherlands issued a joint statement reaffirming their support for the court.

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