The United States imposed new sanctions on the International Criminal Court, accusing it of unfairly targeting Americans for war crime charges.
The United States was accused of launching “an assault” on the world’s legal order after the latest move.
The sanctions were announced hours after one of the ICC former judges won the Nobel Peace Prize, putting Washington on a diplomatic collision course with European allies, Reuters reports.
The Donald Trump administration administration has accused the court of politicization and unfairly targeting Americans for war crime charges. US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio stated that, “Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.”
The ICC accused Donald Trump’s officials of attempting to “obstruct the course of justice” as Rubio announced in a video that the US would move to impose financial sanctions.
“We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling their ability to operate against us. Because our message is clear: the United States and the American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this fake ICC,” Marco Rubio said in a video posted on X. “We don’t need that court and we don’t want it.”
The ICC and EU respond
In a statement, the court warned that “history will judge this moment” and urged other members to ensure it can continue the function. “It is an attempt to obstruct the course of justice and to prevent the Court from doing what it was created to do. It is an assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order,” the ICC said.
The new set of sanctions will block any assets the ICC has in US jurisdictions and gives US companies or individuals six months to wind down business with the tribunal court. However, the sanctions also allow the ICC to address the US government’s concerns, and certain transactions are exempt.
The Trump administration has repeatedly condemned the ICC for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. It also opened an investigation into the actions of US soldiers in Afghanistan, although the case has been closed.
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.
The European Union stated that it is ready to take all necessary measures to enable the International Criminal Court to continue its work, even following the imposition of sanctions by the US, as the European Commission announced on Saturday.
However, the Commission noted that there is still room for dialogue, given the six-month period before the sanctions are implemented.
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