The administration of the U.S. President, Donald Trump, imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday, just a few hours after one of its former judges won the Nobel Peace Prize, placing Washington on a collision course with its European allies.
The ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan condemned the sanctions and said they would not impede the court’s work.
The Trump administration has long taken a hostile stance toward the court and had already imposed sanctions on its prosecutors and judges. The move on Friday goes much further, as it could punish companies that provide services to the court itself.
“President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to try Americans,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a statement seen by Reuters before the official announcement.
“That is why, today, the United States is imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court. We will prohibit transactions with this dishonest court, cutting off its resources and paralyzing its ability to operate.”
Deputy Prosecutor Khan told Reuters that the sanctions “need to be condemned.”
“The sanctions aim to undermine the rule of law at the international level and the work that an independent judicial institution is carrying out,” Khan said. “Our work will continue in all of our cases, investigations and judicial actions.”
Washington has long shown indignation with the ICC’s arrest warrants issued against Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and with a prior investigation into actions of American soldiers in Afghanistan, which the ICC has since closed.
The court, founded in 2002 to try war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, has 125 countries as member states, including all European Union countries and all NATO members, with the exception of the United States and Turkey.
In the past, the court received strong public support from member states, including the major allies of the United States, and is based in the Netherlands, a member of the European Union and NATO.
Navi Pillay, a South African jurist who won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her work in international criminal justice, served as a judge on the ICC’s Appeals Chamber from 2003 to 2008. In its justification, the prize committee stated that it sought to “provide a reminder” at a moment when “judges and institutions of international law are under political attack.”
“An international legal system in which war criminals are held accountable and victims of abuses see justice served is a prerequisite for a peaceful world,” the committee added.
Rubio said the sanctions were structured to give the court and its member states the opportunity to address the United States’ concerns.
He did not provide further details, but a senior State Department official said that the U.S. Treasury would issue a set of licenses “to protect American interests,” an apparent reference to temporary exemptions from some sanctions.
U.S. sanctions typically prevent all U.S.-based companies from conducting any work with a sanctioned organization, forcing banks to close accounts, insurers to terminate coverage and software companies to halt cooperation.
The Trump administration had previously imposed targeted sanctions on ICC officials during its first term, which were revoked by U.S. President Joe Biden. Washington announced new sanctions a few days after Trump returned to office, in January 2025.
Court officials have been preparing for months for the possibility of sanctions against the court itself, replacing Microsoft software on office computers with open-source equivalents and taking new steps regarding banking and health insurance services.
