ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane
THE HAGUE: Regretting the Trump administration’s move to impose sanctions on the officials of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane today “firmly” rejected the United States’ attempt to “influence” the Court’s independence and impartiality. She slammed US President Donald Trump for politicising the ICC’s judicial function and called upon all those “who share the values enshrined in the Statute to stand united in the Court’s defence – our 125 States Parties, civil society and all nations of the world”.
US President Trump while imposing sanctions on the ICC, explained that he found that the Court, as established by the Rome Statute, engaged in “illegitimate and baseless “actions targeting America and its close ally Israel, and ordered imposing “tangible and significant consequences on those responsible for the ICC’s transgressions, some of which may include the blocking of property and assets, as well as the suspension of entry into the United States of ICC officials, employees, and agents, as well as their immediate family members…”
Trump claimed the ICC, without a legitimate basis, asserted jurisdiction over and opened preliminary investigations concerning personnel of the United States and certain of its allies, including Israel, and further abused its power by issuing “baseless” arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.
“The ICC has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, as neither country is a party to the Rome Statute or a member of the ICC. Neither country has ever recognized the ICC’s jurisdiction, and both nations are thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war,” Trump stated. He claimed the ICC’s recent actions against Israel and the United States “set a dangerous precedent, directly endangering current and former United States personnel, including active service members of the Armed Forces, by exposing them to harassment, abuse, and possible arrest”. According to him, this “malign conduct” in turn threatens to infringe upon the sovereignty of the United States and undermines the critical national security and foreign policy work of the US Government and its allies, including Israel.
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He therefore determined that any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute protected persons constituted an “unusual and extraordinary threat” to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and he hereby declared a national emergency to address that threat.
The ICC President noted with “deep regret” the issuance by the United States of an Executive Order seeking to impose sanctions on ICC officials, “harm” the Court’s independence and its impartiality and “deprive millions of innocent victims of atrocities of justice and hope”. She sought to remind President Trump that the ICC is a judicial body which performs functions that align with the interests of the international community by enforcing and promoting universally recognised rules of international law, including the law of armed conflicts and human rights law.
“As atrocities continue to plague the globe affecting the lives of millions of innocent children, women and men, the Court has become indispensable,” she said. According to her, the ICC represented the “most significant” legacy of the immense suffering inflicted on civilians by the world wars, the Holocaust, genocides, violence and persecution.
“When most of the States of the world gathered to draft the Rome Statute, they made the dream of many women and men come true. Today, the ICC is dealing with proceedings arising from different situations across the world, in strict adherence to the provisions of the Rome Statute,” the ICC President stated. She claimed that the announced Executive Order was only the latest in a series of “unprecedented and escalatory” attacks aiming to undermine the Court’s ability to administer justice in all situations.
“Such threats and coercive measures constitute serious attacks against the Court’s States Parties, the rule of law based international order and millions of victims.,” she said.
The ICC and its officials from all over the world realise daily its judicial mandate to determine whether certain individual conducts, within its legitimate jurisdiction, give rise to responsibility for international crimes.
“We firmly reject any attempt to influence the independence and the impartiality of the Court or to politicise our judicial function. We have and always will comply only with the law, under all circumstances,” Judge Akane declared.
The ICC stands firmly by its personnel and pledges to continue providing justice and hope to millions of innocent victims of atrocities across the world, in all situations before it, in the sole interest of human dignity, she claimed. On February 6, 2025, the ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane, First Vice-President Judge Rosario Salvatore Aitala and Registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler visited Brussels, Belgium, where they met António Costa, President of the European Council and Kaja Kallas, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission. The ICC Presidency “strongly” urged the EU to take concrete and swift steps to protect the Court. In this regard, it was stressed that the EU Blocking Statute remains one of the most essential tools for the Court to survive any sanctions that may be imposed.
The Presidency and the Registrar also addressed the Council of the European Union’s Working Party on Public International Law – International Criminal Court (COJUR-ICC) in Brussels where the President briefed the COJUR-ICC on the concrete threats that the Court faces and the impact that these threats may have on the Court’s operations and called upon the European Union (EU) to take action, including by enacting the Blocking Statute. She stated: “The Court and the European Union share common values and ideals: the rule of law and justice for victims of international crimes. That is why in the Council’s decision of 21 March 2011 it was decided that ‘it is most important that the integrity of the Rome Statute and the independence of the ICC be preserved’. But to preserve the Court you must act now.”
– global bihari bureau
