The United States has imposed sanctions on further representatives of the International Criminal Court (ICC), including its president, Tomoko Akane, and senior court lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, in a further escalation of Washington’s confrontation with the tribunal.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the measures targeted the two jurists because of their involvement in ICC efforts to investigate representatives of states that do not recognise the court’s jurisdiction. Rubio described the tribunal as a “corrupt and fatally politicised supranational court” that had maliciously abused its powers and exceeded its mandate.
The sanctions are based on an executive order issued by US President Donald Trump in 2025. Under the measures, any possible assets belonging to those targeted in the United States are frozen, while they are largely excluded from the US financial system. According to the US Treasury Department, a deadline of 17 September applies for winding down ongoing transactions with Akane.
The ICC condemned the decision, saying it undermined “the rule of law”. The court warned that if judicial officials were threatened for applying the law, the international legal order itself would be placed at risk. The dispute therefore extends beyond the individuals affected by the sanctions to a broader confrontation over the authority and reach of international criminal justice.
Washington had already imposed sanctions on ICC representatives last year. Those measures followed arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then Defence Minister Joaw Galant, as well as an earlier investigation into operations by US soldiers in Afghanistan.
Rubio announced in July that the United States intended to intensify its efforts to weaken the court and encourage other countries to withdraw from it. He argued that the ICC represented a threat to US personnel enforcing Trump’s strict immigration policy or participating in operations against suspected drug smugglers. The United States itself is not a member of the ICC.
Founded in 2002, the ICC is currently supported by 125 countries. Despite its membership, the court can also prosecute crimes committed by nationals of non-member states when those crimes take place on the territory of member states. This jurisdiction has become a central point of tension as the court has pursued investigations involving states that do not accept its authority.
The latest sanctions come amid growing pressure on the tribunal, particularly since its investigations turned towards Israel. Last week, four human rights organisations sued President Donald Trump in a New York court over the sanctions against the ICC. They argue that the measures prevent victims of war crimes from obtaining justice.
The dispute now places the ICC at the centre of an increasingly direct confrontation with Washington, with sanctions against senior judicial figures becoming a principal instrument in the US effort to challenge the court’s authority.
