US imposes financial sanctions on International Criminal Court

ICC calls sanctions ‘an assault on the rule of law’

The United States imposed financial sanctions on the International Criminal Court, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced in an October 9 video statement, marking the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s confrontation with the international tribunal. The court pushed back, accusing US officials of attempting to “obstruct the course of justice” and describing the move as an “assault on the rule of law and on the very foundations of the international legal order.”

“We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling their ability to operate against us,” Rubio said in a video posted on X. “Because our message is clear: the United States and the American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this fake ICC.” He added: “We don’t need that court and we don’t want it.”

“Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC,” Rubio said.

The Trump administration has accused the ICC of politicization and of unfairly targeting Americans for war crime charges, the Guardian reported. The administration has repeatedly condemned the ICC for issuing arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The ICC previously opened an investigation into the actions of US soldiers in Afghanistan, though that case has since been closed.

In its own statement, the court described the sanctions as “an attempt to obstruct the course of justice and to prevent the Court from doing what it was created to do” and accused Trump’s officials of undermining “the rule of law and the very foundations of the international legal order.” The court warned that “history will judge this moment” and urged other member states to ensure it can continue to function.

Rubio’s announcement came just hours after a former ICC judge was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The ICC, based in The Hague, was established in 2002 as an international tribunal empowered to hold countries accountable for war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.