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US Escalates Dispute with International Criminal Court, Imposes Sanctions
🇦🇹 Austria /Crime & Justice

US Escalates Dispute with International Criminal Court, Imposes Sanctions

From Die Presse · () German

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement New plan
  • The United States imposed sanctions on the President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Tomoko Akane, and a senior lawyer.
  • The sanctions freeze potential assets in the U.S. and largely exclude them from the U.S. financial system.
  • The U.S. cites the jurists' involvement in investigations against government officials of states not recognizing the ICC's jurisdiction.

The United States has escalated its dispute with the International Criminal Court (ICC) by imposing sanctions on its president, Tomoko Akane, and a senior lawyer. These measures, enacted via a decree signed by former President Donald Trump in 2025, freeze any potential assets held by the targeted individuals within the U.S. and significantly restrict their access to the American financial system.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the sanctions target Japanese judge Tomoko Akane and Senegalese jurist Abdoulaye Seye. Rubio justified the action by asserting that both individuals were involved in the ICC's efforts to investigate government officials from countries that do not recognize the court's jurisdiction. The U.S. Treasury Department has provided a grace period until September 17th to settle ongoing transactions with Akane.

The measures are directed against the Japanese judge as well as the Senegalese jurist Abdoulaye Seye.

— Marco RubioU.S. Secretary of State, identifying the targets of the new sanctions.

This move follows previous sanctions the U.S. levied against ICC officials last year. Those actions were prompted by arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and then-Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as an earlier investigation into the actions of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan.

The United States, along with countries such as China, Russia, Israel, and Turkey, is not a member of the ICC, which was established in The Hague in 2002. Despite this, the court, with its 125 member states, can prosecute crimes committed by nationals of non-member states on the territory of member states. Rubio had previously announced in July an intensified U.S. effort to weaken the court and encourage other nations to withdraw, arguing the ICC poses a threat to U.S. personnel involved in implementing immigration policies or combating drug smugglers.

the two jurists were involved in efforts by the court (ICC) to investigate government officials from states that do not recognize its jurisdiction.

— Marco RubioU.S. Secretary of State, explaining the U.S. rationale for imposing the sanctions.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Die Presse in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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