International Criminal Court Faces The Risk Of Further Sanctions

On September 22, 2025, media outlets reported on the possibility of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the only permanent international court in existence, being sanctioned as an entity by the Trump Administration. According to Reuters, “entity-wide sanctions were being weighed but did not elaborate on the timing of the possible move.” The Trump Administration has already issued several sanctions against those working with the ICC, in accordance with an executive order introduced by President Trump in February 2025. Among those sanctioned are the ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, Deputy Prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan and Mame Mandiaye Niang, six judges presiding over various stages in the proceedings concerning the situations in Afghanistan and Palestine, and Francesca Paola Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories Occupied since 1967. Most recent sanctions include three foreign non-governmental organizations—Al Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights (Al Mezan), and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR)— which are said to have been working with the ICC, to “investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent.” While it is unclear at this stage whether the Trump Administration will sanction the ICC as a whole, the Trump Administration made it very clear that further sanctions will follow.

What are the sanctions imposed on those working with the ICC so far? These sanctions are far-reaching and, as identified by the Trump Administration, as a result of the sanctions, all property and interests in property of the sanctioned persons and entities that are in the United States or in possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked. Similarly, all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited unless authorized by a general or specific license. These prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person and the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person. As such, these sanctions have the effect of financial paralysis.

In response to the possible sanctions against the ICC as a whole, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) issued a public letter in support of the ICC. The letter calls on States Parties to the Rome Statute to “do everything in their power to stop the proposed U.S. sanctions against the ICC, an independent judicial institution with a mandate to confront impunity for the gravest crimes known to humanity.” As the letter suggests, “Such sanctions would leave countless victims abandoned by obstructing a last resort to justice, weaponizing the global financial system to choke the Court’s work, and entrenching double standards where power and politics dictate which survivors deserve justice.”

The letter further argues that sanctioning the ICC would be a dangerous turning point, undermining international efforts to ensure justice and accountability globally. Such sanctions would have a significant effect on the ICC as an entity. If the ICC were to be sanctioned, it would become financially paralyzed. As it explains: “US control over the global financial system ensures the impact of mere threats of sanctions reaches far beyond Washington, as non-American banks, insurers, and service providers often over-comply in fear of themselves being sanctioned, blocking even basic transactions.”

While this would threaten all core functions of the ICC, one of the most significant effects of the sanctions would be leaving victims/survivors of international crimes without the assistance and protection they require.

The signatories of the public letter call on ICC States Parties to save the ICC and the Rule of Law by publicly and firmly rejecting sanctions against the ICC, protecting service providers, and developing practical alternatives to the U.S.-dollar banking network, among others.

While there is no indication whether the ICC, as an entity, will be sanctioned, the Trump Administration made it very clear that “The United States will continue to take whatever actions we deem necessary to respond to lawfare, to check and prevent illegitimate ICC overreach and abuse of power, and to protect our sovereignty and that of our allies.”

As the sanctions are yet to be confirmed, the international community must consider the chilling message from the NGO public letter: “If sanctions render the [ICC] inoperative, there will be no way back. We will have lost forever one of the most relevant institutions of the past century. The global community cannot let this happen.”