By Nolan Barr, Staff Editor Volume 40 

Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza has a storied career. After working her way up through Peru’s prosecutorial system, achieving the rank of Senior National Prosecutor, she was elected to sit as a judge in the International Criminal Court, presiding over the prosecution of the gravest crimes against humanity. For most, such a prestigious position would be a momentous achievement, but for judges such as Ibáñez Carranza, their ICC positions made them targets for retributive sanctions by the Trump Administration.  

In February of last year, President Trump signed an executive order accusing the ICC of engaging in “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel.” The Executive Order claims the ICC targeted America, which refers to the ICC’s investigation into U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan. However, this is merely pretext, as the ICC ended that investigation in 2021. This order was, in fact, a response to the ICC issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes relating to the war in Gaza, including the war crime of starvation as a method of warfare and the crimes against humanity of murder, persecution, and other inhumane acts. Using “national emergency” as justification, the order granted President Trump broad power to issue asset freezes and travel bans against ICC staff and their family members. These sanctions are yet another example of the Trump administration’s ham-fisted attempts to circumvent the ideals of justice in furtherance of self-serving ends. These sanctions are not simply a one-off misstep by this administration, but a reflection of this administration’s ethos—speak loudly and hit everyone with a big stick. When you consider that this administration threatened to raze Iran for failing to acquiesce in an illegal war, entertained the idea of hanging U.S. veterans who instructed soldiers to follow the law and ignore illegal orders, and issued full pardons to seditionists while weaponizing the Justice Department against political enemies, it becomes clear that this administration’s actions are not animated by considerations for justice. Instead, they are driven by a need for unquestioning genuflection at the altar of Trump’s America. Vengeful ICC sanctions are the logical result of this administration’s singular, unwavering goal: submission.  

To date, the Trump administration has placed eleven ICC officials under sanctions, including Prosecutor Karim Khan and eight Honorable Judges of the Court. These sanctions effectively cut ICC officials off from all U.S. connections—including travel bans, asset freezes, and prohibitions on the provision or supply of U.S. funds, goods, and services by any U.S. individual or entity to the sanctioned individuals. These ICC officials are now registered on a sanctions list that includes terrorists, organized criminals, and corrupt dictators. The sanctions’ effects are not limited to only U.S. institutions, as the U.S.’s massive global influence creates an incentive for overcompliance by foreign entities. For example, Judge Ibáñez Carranza’s bank in the Netherlands canceled her credit card, because, as she remarked, “banks are terrified about the relations with US banks or institutions.” The spouses, parents, and children of ICC officials are also being targeted. Due to the sanctions, Ibáñez Carranza’s daughter’s U.S. visa was canceled and her Google accounts were terminated. Her reaction reflects the vindictiveness of these sanctions: “[My daughter] lives in another part of the world, she had no link to the ICC. It’s sad. This is pure retaliation for something she hasn’t done.” While these sanctions are currently limited to individuals within the ICC, there are growing concerns that institutional sanctions will be used to destroy the court entirely. In January of last year, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced the “Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act,” which proposed sanctions against foreign persons or entities who assist the ICC in investigating, arresting, detaining, or prosecuting individuals. Although this bill has not yet been passed, Congress could still vote on it, or the President could take action via Executive Order. 

The Trump administration’s justification for the sanctions is anchored on the fact that neither the U.S. nor Israel ratified the Rome Statute—the treaty which created the ICC—so any ICC action against American or Israeli citizens is a threat to the sovereignty of each respective nation. To be fair to the Trump administration, they are correct that the principle of non-intervention typically prevents an international entity from asserting jurisdiction over a foreign national without a proper jurisdictional basis. However, “without a proper jurisdictional basis” is the operative phrase here. The U.S. government’s position—that the ICC cannot assert jurisdiction over personnel of the United States and Israel in any scenario because neither ratified the Rome Statute—is not just misleading, it is false. The ICC can assert jurisdiction based on the territorial principle. While the U.S. and Israel are not Rome Statute members, Afghanistan and Palestine are. Therefore, crimes against humanity committed by non-member nationals in the territory of a member state are well within the jurisdiction of the ICC. Even more importantly, the ICC is no longer investigating U.S. war crimes in Afghanistan, so the “national emergency” that grants President Trump the power to issue these sanctions is completely unfounded. This legal sleight of hand is hypocrisy of the highest order—the Trump administration is using the non-interference principle as justification to materially interfere with a treaty (and Court) to which they are not a member.  

Setting hypocritical legal justification aside, these sanctions are not intended to protect American interests; they are meant to have a chilling effect on the watch-dog role of the ICC. These sanctions are not just targeting eleven people, they are sending a message: investigate the U.S. and its allies, and you will face the consequences. Although the sanctions are currently limited to ICC judges and their family members, the same “national emergency” justification can be used to punish individuals who assist the ICC in any investigation that this administration deems a threat to U.S. sovereignty, putting lawyers, academics, NGOs, and human rights organizations on notice that they may also face the ire of President Trump. This destabilizes the entire ecosystem of international criminal accountability. Attacks on the ICC are an attack on the global legal order itself. President Trump’s sanctions will make it more difficult for victims of human rights abuses to find justice, which seems to be of little concern for this administration. These sanctions are simply a flex of power, and a vindictive one at that, which sets aside concern for human rights victims in favor of ensuring that America can shield itself and its allies from justice.  

The global community’s response lacks teeth. 79 ICC member states issued a joint statement supporting the ICC, but normative support is too weak to register with the Trump administration. These sanctions have thrown down the proverbial gauntlet, and it is up to the global community to emphatically respond. On February 17th, Nicolas Guillou, a French ICC judge sanctioned by the U.S., urged the European Union (EU) to block U.S. sanctions that left him unbanked and cut off from internet services. On February 24th, the EU’s Committee on Legal Affairs and Subcommittee on Human Rights held a joint public hearing on the immunity of ICC officials, explicitly to address issues of “extraterritorial coercion.” Despite growing demand for the EU to activate Regulation 2271 of 1996, a “blocking statute” which shields European people and entities from the effects of extraterritorial sanctions imposed by third countries, the EU has failed to do so. This is unacceptable. The EU must take decisive action to protect ICC officials. The role of the ICC in addressing grave human rights violations is far too important to allow the U.S.’s bullying to interrupt its responsibilities. Bullies expect capitulation and only respond to staunch shows of resistance—the EU must resist, not just for the ICC, but for the victims of human rights atrocities everywhere.  

To close, I want to quote former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the ICC’s mission, “This cause . . . is the cause of all humanity.” Despite the intimidation, bullying, and coercion, the ICC has a duty to humanity to hold the worst of us accountable. This mission transcends national interest or self-serving shows of power. ICC judges oversee a legal order of the utmost importance, and the global community has the responsibility to combat the Trump administration’s attempt to interfere with the cause of all humanity.