Marco Rubio, the United States Secretary of State, criticized the International Criminal Court (ICC) for what he described as a “political move” targeting Israel. Rubio announced sanctions against two ICC judges, Georgian national Gocha Lordkipanidze and Mongolian national Erdenebal Suren Damdin, in response to their involvement in ICC proceedings against Israel without its consent.
The U.S. imposed these sanctions under Executive Order 14203, which pertains to sanctions against the ICC. The State Department stated that these judges participated in investigations, arrests, detention, and prosecution against Israeli nationals and supported an ICC decision on December 15 that dismissed Israel’s appeal.
Secretary Rubio emphasized that the ICC’s actions against Israel create a dangerous precedent by infringing on the sovereignty of both the U.S. and Israel. He reiterated that neither the U.S. nor Israel recognizes the jurisdiction of the ICC, as they are not parties to the Rome Statute that established the ICC. Rubio assured that the U.S. would respond with meaningful measures against the ICC’s legal actions.
This move by the Trump administration follows ongoing controversies over ICC arrest warrants and investigations involving Israeli leadership, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In May of last year, ICC prosecutors sought arrest warrants for Netanyahu, then Defense Minister Yoav Galant, and leaders of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, citing war crimes. Despite Israel’s appeal to halt the investigations and withdraw the arrest orders, the ICC Appeals Chamber rejected the appeal on December 15.
The ICC responded to the U.S. sanctions, describing them as a “blatant attack” and issued a statement warning that the real threat lies to the international legal order when legal practitioners are intimidated for enforcing the law.