US State Department Sanctions International Criminal Court Judges

On June 5, 2025, the United States Department of State sanctioned four individuals currently serving as judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC), the only permanent criminal tribunal in the world. The Department of State’s designations are made pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 14203, which authorizes sanctions on foreign persons engaged in certain efforts by the ICC and aims to impose significant consequences on those directly engaged in the ICC’s actions against the United States and Israel. A statement issued by the Office of the Spokesperson to the State Department stated: “We do not take this step lightly. It reflects the seriousness of the threat we face from the ICC’s politicization and abuse of power.”

The four judges sanctioned by the State Department are Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, Appeals Division of the ICC, Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza of Peru, Appeals Division of the ICC, Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou of Benin, Pre-Trial and Trial Division of the ICC, and Beti Hohler of Slovenia, Judge, Pre-Trial and Trial Division of the ICC. They were sanctioned for “directly engaging in any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute a protected person without consent of that person’s country of nationality.” Judges Bossa and Ibanez Carranza ruled to authorize the ICC’s investigation against U.S. personnel in Afghanistan. However, several years later, no arrest warrants have been pursued against U.S. personnel. Indeed, as is clear from recent ICC communications, their focus is on the Taliban since their takeover in August 2021, and in particular, the treatment of women and girls as crimes against humanity of gender persecution. Judges Alapini Gansou and Hohler ruled to authorize the ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.

In a press statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that “As ICC judges, these four individuals have actively engaged in the ICC’s illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America or our close ally, Israel. The ICC is politicized and falsely claims unfettered discretion to investigate, charge, and prosecute nationals of the United States and our allies. This dangerous assertion and abuse of power infringes upon the sovereignty and national security of the United States and our allies, including Israel.”

As emphasized by the State Department, as a result of the sanctions designations, all property and interests in property of the sanctioned person that are in the United States or in possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Additionally, all individuals or entities that are owned, either directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50% or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. All transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC or exempt. These prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person and the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person. However, these sanctions may have a much more wide-ranging impact. Indeed, after the ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan was sanctioned in February 2025, all his bank accounts were frozen, and he is said to have lost access to his emails.

The new sanctions have been widely criticized. The ICC issued a statement indicating that “These measures are a clear attempt to undermine the independence of an international judicial institution which operates under the mandate from 125 States Parties from all corners of the globe. (…) Targeting those working for accountability does nothing to help civilians trapped in conflict. It only emboldens those who believe they can act with impunity. These sanctions are not only directed at designated individuals, they also target all those who support the Court, including nationals and corporate entities of States Parties. They are aimed against innocent victims in all Situations before the Court, as well as the rule of law, peace, security and the prevention of the gravest crimes that shock the conscience of humanity.” Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stressed that “Attacks against judges for performance of their judicial functions, at national or international levels, run directly counter to respect for the rule of law and the equal protection of the law – values for which the U.S. has long stood. Such attacks are deeply corrosive of good governance and the due administration of justice.”

After Prosecutor Khan was sanctioned, multiple lawsuits have been brought before US courts to challenge the application of the E.O. 14203. The plaintiffs in these lawsuits are U.S. citizens who engage with the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) as law professors and human rights advocates who argued that the order exceeds the scope of President Trump’s authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and violates their constitutional rights. They seek preliminary injunctions. One of the cases, brought by a U.S. citizen working in the OTP on the situation in Darfur, trial attorney and U.S. Army veteran, Eric Iverson, was voluntarily dismissed after he received a license from the U.S. government authorizing him to continue his work. All other cases are still ongoing.

The sanctions imposed by the State Department on ICC judges are highly concerning as they do attack judicial independence. The sanctions will cause some disruption in the work of the ICC. They will also alarm anyone working for or with the ICC. However, contrary to what the State Department may believe, these sanctions will not stop the work of the ICC.