The ICC condemned new US sanctions on two of its judges, warning that the move undermines judicial independence and threatens the international legal order.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has condemned new US sanctions imposed on two of its judges, warning that the measures pose a serious threat to judicial independence and the international legal order.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the ICC said the sanctions against Judge Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Judge Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia constitute “a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution.” The court stressed that the measures target judges elected by its States Parties and cautioned against the broader implications for international justice.
“Such measures targeting judges and prosecutors who were elected by the States Parties undermine the rule of law,” the ICC said, adding that when judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk.
The court also reaffirmed its institutional position, stating that it “stands firmly behind its personnel and behind victims of unimaginable atrocities,” and emphasizing that it will continue to carry out its mandate independently.
UK Threatened to Defund ICC over Netanyahu Arrest Warrant, Prosecutor Says
The sanctions were announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio under Executive Order 14203, marking an escalation in the Trump administration’s confrontation with the ICC following recent judicial decisions related to the court’s Gaza investigation.
In a statement on Thursday, Rubio said the two judges were sanctioned because they had “directly engaged in (…) to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent”.
Rubio reiterated Washington’s long-standing rejection of the court’s authority, saying, “the United States and Israel are not party to the Rome Statute and therefore reject the ICC’s jurisdiction”. He added that the administration “will continue to respond with significant and tangible consequences to the ICC’s lawfare and overreach.”
The sanctions follow ICC judges’ rejection of legal challenges submitted by Israel seeking to halt the court’s investigation into alleged war crimes committed in Gaza. This latest move expands earlier US sanctions imposed on other ICC judges and Prosecutor Karim Khan, who has overseen the investigation.
Those targeted by the measures face asset freezes and travel restrictions that significantly limit their professional and personal activities.
The Netherlands, which hosts the ICC in The Hague, also criticized the US decision. The Dutch government said that international courts and their officials must be able to operate independently and without political interference, underscoring the importance of safeguarding judicial processes.
Although neither the United States nor Israel is a party to the Rome Statute, the Palestinian Authority joined the ICC in 2015, allowing the court to exercise jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Despite mounting political pressure, the ICC has maintained that its mandate obliges it to pursue accountability impartially, regardless of political considerations, particularly amid ongoing allegations of war crimes and genocide in Gaza.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
How can the US freeze assets in Georgia, Mongolia, or the Netherlands?? Only the UN Security Council can apply sanctions (but always temporary). The US “sanctions” are meaningless – unless Georgia, Mongolia, or the Netherlands slavishly follow the US??
Pretty sure that they can get the Rothschild banks to steal the money for them. Along with stealing any other assets in the US imperial vassal states.