US sanctions International Criminal Court itself, hours after ex-judge Navi Pillay wins Nobel

Right · 1On 8 October the New York Post reported, citing a US official and an internal memo, that the State Department would impose "further sanctions" on the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its attempts to charge American service members. 1 Right · 1The official said diplomatic posts were being warned that "further ICC action" was imminent, and the memo cited longstanding grievances with the US not being a signatory to the court's founding treaty. 1 Right · 1The memo described the ICC as seeking to become "the unaccountable global arbiter" and said the US "has no choice but to impose further sanctions", building on a US campaign to assemble a coalition of countries rejecting the court. 1

Right · 1Diplomats were told of the pending sanctions after Secretary of State Marco Rubio's Wednesday speech in Athens, in which he denounced attempts "to abolish the sovereignty of nations". 1 Right · 1On Friday 9 October, Reuters reported (carried by The Straits Times) that the Trump administration had imposed sanctions on the ICC itself, hours after Navi Pillay, a former ICC judge, won the Nobel Peace Prize. 2 Right · 1Rubio said: "We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate." He added: "Either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC." 2

Right · 1Reuters said the step goes much further than earlier sanctions on the court's prosecutors and judges because it could punish companies that provide services to the court. US sanctions typically force banks to close accounts, insurers to end coverage and software firms to halt cooperation. 2 Right · 1Rubio said the action was structured to let the court and its member states address US concerns, and that the US had delayed sanctions hoping they would do so. He said the US expects allies to "rein in the court" and will "continue to adjust accordingly" if that fails. A senior State Department official said the Treasury would issue licences "to protect American interests", which Reuters took to mean temporary exemptions. 2 Right · 1Reuters noted that Washington has long been angry over ICC arrest warrants for Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and over a past investigation into US soldiers in Afghanistan that the ICC has since closed. 2

Right · 1The court has 125 member states, including all EU countries and all NATO members except the US and Turkey, and is based in the Netherlands. Reuters said the sanctions put Washington on a collision course with European allies. 2 Right · 1Pillay, a South African jurist, sat on the ICC Appeals Chamber from 2003 to 2008. The Nobel committee said it wanted to "issue a reminder" at a time when "judges and institutions of international law are under political attack". 2 Right · 1Court officials had prepared for months by moving from Microsoft software to open-source equivalents and arranging new banking and health insurance. Registrar Osvaldo Zavala Giler urged the EU earlier in the week to be ready to use its "blocking mechanism" to shield European countries from the sanctions' extraterritorial effects. 2