US sanctions ICC president and senior trial lawyer in fresh court pressure

The United States has imposed sanctions on the president of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and a senior trial lawyer, marking the latest step in Washington's campaign against the Hague-based tribunal.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the measures against Tomoko Akane, a Japanese judge who serves as ICC president, and Abdoulaye Seye, a Senegalese national and senior trial lawyer. The action falls under a presidential executive order issued last year that authorises sanctions against the court.

Rubio said the two individuals were directly involved in ICC efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials from governments that have not consented to the court's jurisdiction. The United States is not a member of the ICC, which was established in 2002 to prosecute war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity.

The ICC condemned the move, warning that threatening judicial actors for applying the law puts the entire international legal order at risk.

The sanctions freeze any US-based assets held by the two individuals and effectively cut them off from the US financial system, which nearly all internationally operating banks rely on. The Treasury Department has issued a general licence allowing transactions involving Akane and Seye to be wound down through September 17.

Seye is part of the prosecution team that sought an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and has been nominated for election as an ICC judge. The court's actions against Netanyahu and former Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as a past probe into US troops in Afghanistan, have driven the US campaign.

The move has strained relations with European allies. Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen said the Netherlands, which hosts the court, disapproved of the sanctions and had invited Akane to discuss continued support. He stressed that international courts must be able to carry out their mandates freely.

Akane warned in December that US sanctions would rapidly undermine the court's operations and jeopardise its very existence.

Three ICC judges sued the Trump administration in June, arguing the sanctions were unlawful. Advocacy groups have also filed separate lawsuits claiming the campaign infringes on constitutional rights of organisations working with the court.

Rubio said last month that Washington would intensify efforts to undermine the ICC, including a diplomatic push to persuade other countries to leave the institution. At least five countries have already done so.

The administration has argued that the court poses a threat to US personnel involved in immigration enforcement, counter-narcotics operations, and military activities. President Donald Trump has said the campaign is aimed at defending Netanyahu and others from prosecution.