Trump Imposes Sanctions On International Criminal Court Officials In New Executive Order

On February 6th, 2025, Republican President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order imposing travel and economic sanctions against the officials, agents, and employees as well as the immediate family members of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The U.S. government accused the Court of, “asserting power and launching baseless probes into US personnel and some of its allies, including Israel.”

“ICC is misusing its authority by issuing illegitimate arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant,” Stated Trump.

The warrants, according to Trump’s statement, harm American sovereignty, threatening the U.S. foreign policy and national security efforts of the US government and its allies, particularly Israel, and setting a “dangerous precedent” that puts American citizens and military personnel in jeopardy “by exposing them to harassment, abuse, and possible arrest.”

Trump’s actions came after Senate Democrats blocked a Republican-led attempt to formally impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) of which the US and Israel are not members.

In December 2024, a month before the inauguration of President Trump, ICC President Tomoko Akane warned at an annual session of the court’s 124 members that US sanctions might “rapidly undermine the Court’s operations and jeopardize its existence”.

According to media sources, the ICC was preparing for the financial repercussions of economic and travel sanctions imposed by the Trump administration and had three months’ worth of staff salaries paid in advance for its 125-member staff.

How Is The International Community Responding?

Dozens of countries proclaimed their “unwavering support” for the ICC on February 7, the day after President Donald Trump announced sanctions on the court.

Eighty countries released a joint statement stating “We reaffirm our continued and unwavering support for the independence, impartiality, and integrity of the ICC,”.

France, Germany, and the United Kingdom all agreed with the statement, describing the ICC as “a vital pillar of the international justice system.” Australia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Italy were absent.

Did Trump Employ Sanctions Against The ICC In This Way Before?

On June 11, 2020, Trump sanctioned two ICC officials, Fatou Bensouda, the ICC prosecutor, and Phakiso Mochochoko, the head of a division within the prosecutor’s office, and added their names to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (the SDN List).

These sanctions resulted in asset freezes and family entry bans to hinder ICC investigations in Afghanistan and Palestine.

Furthermore, in 2019, the Trump government withdrew the prosecutor’s visa to the United States.

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What Could Be The Repercussions For Sanctioned ICC Officials?

Given the global supremacy of the US dollar that currently fuels all international trade, sanctions on ICC will have potentially far-reaching impacts on its officials and staff.

Transactions denominated in US dollars, even those involving two non-US parties, are typically handled by a bank under US jurisdiction.

As a result, every transaction that travels through them, even for a moment, will be banned.

Due to the strength of the US dollar and the threat of losing access to risk-averse US banks, most major financial institutions worldwide will refuse to do transactions with or for individuals on the U.S SDN List.

As per sources, this executive order can impede designated individuals’ capacity to engage in any economic activities on an international level.