By SCM International Desk I Wednesday, August 19, 2026
THE HAGUE — The International Criminal Court issued a sharp rebuke against the United States on Wednesday, calling new U.S. financial designations targeting its top judge and a senior prosecutor a “flagrant attack” against judicial independence and the global legal order.
The tribunal’s statement comes after the Trump administration announced sanctions against Judge Tomoko Akane of Japan, the current President of the Court, and Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal, a Senior Trial Lawyer in the Office of the Prosecutor.
”When judicial actors are threatened for applying the law, it is the international legal order itself that is placed at risk,” the court said in its statement.
The Hague-based body warned that coercive measures directed at its personnel directly impede the ability of victims of international atrocities to seek justice when all domestic legal options have been exhausted.
With the latest designations, half of the tribunal’s bench—nine of its 18 judges—along with both Deputy Prosecutors, a former Chief Prosecutor, and key trial staff, are now subject to U.S. sanctions.
The penalties freeze any U.S.-based assets held by the officials and bar them from interacting with the American financial system, effectively blocking standard global banking services.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the designations, stating that the individuals were targeted for participating in efforts to investigate, arrest, or prosecute officials from non-member states that have not consented to I.C.C. jurisdiction.
He reiterated Washington’s stance that the court is engaging in “illegitimate judicial overreach.”
The enforcement stems from Executive Order 14203, signed by President Donald J. Trump in February 2025.
The decree declared a national emergency in response to the court’s decisions, particularly the issuance of arrest warrants in late 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant concerning allegations of war crimes in Gaza.
Neither the United States nor Israel are signatories to the Rome Statute, the 1998 treaty that established the court.
However, the court asserts jurisdiction over alleged crimes committed on the territory of its 125 member states, regardless of the perpetrator’s nationality.
The mounting pressure has sparked concern among human rights organizations and European allies. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen reaffirmed support for the Hague tribunal, noting that international courts must be allowed to fulfill their mandates without external coercion.
Meanwhile, civil rights groups filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court challenging the legality of Executive Order 14203, arguing the sanctions hamper human rights work and victim advocacy worldwide.
Despite the expanding sanctions, the I.C.C. declared that it remains undeterred and will continue to execute its mandate under the Rome Statute.
