The United States on Wednesday, August 20, imposed sanctions on four more International Criminal Court (ICC) judges or prosecutors, including from allies France and Canada, in a new effort to hobble the tribunal, particularly over actions against Israel.
"The Court is a national security threat that has been an instrument for lawfare against the United States and our close ally Israel," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement, using a term popular with President Donald Trump's supporters.
Rubio said that the four people targeted from the tribunal based in The Hague had sought to investigate or prosecute nationals from the United States or Israel "without the consent of either nation." The four include Judge Nicolas Guillou of France, who is presiding over a case in which an arrest warrant was issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"I congratulate Marco Rubio, the US Secretary of State, who decided to impose sanctions on the judges of the International Criminal Court," Netanyahu's office said in a statement. "This is a decisive act against a smear campaign of lies against the State of Israel and the (Israeli army)," added the prime minister, who has been the subject of an ICC arrest warrant since November 2024 for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
The case was brought forward by the State of Palestine, which is not recognized by Washington but, unlike Israel or the US, has acceded to the statute that set up the tribunal in The Hague.
The ICC denounced these new sanctions, calling them a "flagrant attack" on its independence. "These sanctions are a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution," the court said in a statement on Wednesday.
Guillou, a veteran jurist, worked for several years in the US assisting the Justice Department with judicial cooperation during Barack Obama's presidency. A foreign ministry spokesman from France said the sanctions, including against French judge Guillou, were "in contradiction to the principle of an independent judiciary".
Also targeted in the latest US sanctions was a Canadian judge, Kimberly Prost, who was involved in a case that authorized an investigation into alleged crimes committed during the war in Afghanistan, including by US forces.
Under the sanctions, the United States will bar entry of the ICC judges to US territory and block any property they have in the world's largest economy – measures more often taken against US adversaries than individuals from close allies. Rubio also slapped sanctions on two deputy prosecutors – Nazhat Shameem Khan of Fiji and Mame Mandiaye Niang of Senegal.
The State Department said the two were punished by the US for supporting "illegitimate ICC actions against Israel," including by supporting the arrest warrants against Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant. Rubio imposed sanctions on four other ICC judges in June.
The Trump administration has roundly rejected the authority of the court, which is backed by almost all European democracies and was set up as a court of last resort when national systems do not allow for justice.