US sanctions International Criminal Court president Tomoko Akane

On August 18, 2026, the US sanctioned International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane and senior lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, freezing their assets and cutting them off from the US financial system. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused them of overreaching into non-member sovereignty. The move escalates a Trump administration campaign to dismantle the court, largely triggered by ICC arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The ICC, the Netherlands, and human rights groups condemned the sanctions, with several groups filing lawsuits.

US sanctions on ICC officials

• ▪US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Tomoko Akane and Abdoulaye Seye were sanctioned for directly engaging in efforts to prosecute officials whose governments did not consent to International Criminal Court jurisdiction.
• ▪The United States imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane and Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye on August 18, 2026.
• ▪The US sanctions freeze any US assets held by Tomoko Akane and Abdoulaye Seye and bar them from entering the United States or accessing the US financial system.
• ▪The US Treasury Department issued a general license on August 18, 2026, authorizing the wind-down of financial transactions involving International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane through September 17, 2026.

Trump administration ICC campaign

• ▪US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced a diplomatic campaign in July 2026 aimed at persuading the 125 member countries of the International Criminal Court to withdraw from the institution.
• ▪The Trump administration's campaign against the International Criminal Court is aimed in part at defending Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other allies from prosecution.
• ▪US Secretary of State Marco Rubio argued that the International Criminal Court poses a threat to US personnel carrying out President Donald Trump's immigration policies or maritime drug-interdiction strikes.
• ▪The Trump administration has sanctioned at least 11 International Criminal Court officials, including nine judges and the chief prosecutor, under an executive order targeting the court.

ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu

• ▪Abdoulaye Seye is a senior trial attorney on the International Criminal Court prosecution team that sought the arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
• ▪Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the US sanctions on August 18, 2026, calling the International Criminal Court a 'kangaroo court' that abuses its power.
• ▪The United States previously imposed targeted sanctions on International Criminal Court officials in response to arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

International responses to sanctions

• ▪Four human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and the Center for Constitutional Rights, filed a lawsuit in New York challenging the Trump administration's sanctions against the International Criminal Court as unconstitutional.
• ▪Dutch Foreign Minister Tom Berendsen disapproved of the US sanctions and invited International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane to discuss continued support from the Netherlands.
• ▪The International Criminal Court condemned the US sanctions, stating that the measures undermine the rule of law and place the international legal order at risk.
• ▪Three International Criminal Court judges sued Donald Trump and his administration in June 2026, arguing that the US sanctions imposed on them were unlawful.

ICC jurisdiction disputes

• ▪The International Criminal Court statute grants the court power to prosecute atrocity crimes committed on the territory of member states, even if the accused are nationals of non-member states.
• ▪The United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court and has never recognized its jurisdiction.

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