ICC Calls US Sanctions 'Blatant Attack on Judicial Independence'

▲ ICC President Tomoko Akane walks ahead of the verdict in the Al Hassan case at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, on Nov. 20, 2024.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has criticized the Donald Trump administration's sanctions against ICC President Tomoko Akane, calling them a "blatant attack on judicial independence."

In a statement released on the 19th (local time), the ICC stated, "Such measures targeting judges, prosecutors, and staff undermine the rule of law. If judicial actors are threatened simply for applying the law, what is put at risk is the international legal order itself."

The ICC added that it "firmly stands by its staff and victims of atrocities" and will faithfully carry out its duties without being shaken by these sanctions.

The U.S. government announced the previous day that it had placed President Akane and Principal Appeals Counsel Abdoulaye Seye on its sanctions list, stating they have "been directly involved in ICC efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials of countries that have not consented to its jurisdiction."

Following the launch of the Trump administration in February of last year, it has continuously sanctioned ICC personnel, taking issue with the issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Counsel Seye had previously been in charge of tasks related to requesting the arrest warrant for Netanyahu.

The United States and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute, the founding treaty of the ICC.

However, the ICC issued the warrant for Netanyahu based on a provision in the Rome Statute stating that the court has jurisdiction if crimes are committed on the territory of a state party.

Palestine joined the ICC in 2015.

Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, who requested the arrest warrant for Prime Minister Netanyahu, was placed on the U.S. sanctions list in February of last year and was dismissed last month following allegations of sexual misconduct.

The ICC stated that with the addition of President Akane and others, 9 out of 18 judges, both deputy prosecutors, 1 former chief prosecutor, and 1 staff member have become targets of U.S. sanctions.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)

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