The present and former heads of the ICC’s governing physique say stress on the court docket threatens worldwide legislation, as Washington widens sanctions and retreats from multilateral establishments.
Printed On 4 Sep 2026
The present and former presidents of the Worldwide Felony Court docket’s (ICC) governing physique have mentioned that efforts to isolate the establishment diplomatically are aimed toward eroding confidence within the worldwide authorized order, as US President Donald Trump’s administration has pressured international locations to isolate the ICC.
“Efforts to isolate the Court docket diplomatically – whether or not by encouraging States Events to withdraw from the Rome Statute or urging non-States Events to affix measures supposed to weaken it – are aimed toward eroding not just one establishment, however confidence within the worldwide authorized order itself,” Paivi Kaukoranta, the present president of the ICC’s Meeting of States Events, and 7 former presidents mentioned in a joint op-ed printed on Thursday.
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Within the piece that appeared on the Simply Safety legislation and coverage journal’s web site, they argued that the ICC represented a collective determination by sovereign states to create guidelines for prosecuting genocide, crimes towards humanity, conflict crimes and the crime of aggression. The court docket, they confused, will not be supposed to interchange nationwide justice programs.
“The ICC is a court docket of final resort,” the authors wrote.
Additionally they rejected the argument that the court docket essentially undermines state sovereignty, saying that international locations becoming a member of worldwide treaties and establishments are exercising sovereignty fairly than surrendering it.
The assertion comes because the Trump administration sanctioned ICC judges and officers and pressured international locations to distance themselves from the court docket.
The US, which isn’t a member of the ICC, has strongly opposed its instances involving Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and previous investigations involving US personnel.
However the present and former meeting presidents framed the dispute extra broadly, warning towards a world during which political energy determines when worldwide legislation applies.
“The selection earlier than us is between a world based mostly on the rule of legislation and one the place would possibly decides what is correct,” they wrote.
They known as on the ICC’s 125 member states, worldwide and regional organisations and different supporters of worldwide legislation to supply the court docket with political, authorized and sensible backing and to assist governments resist stress to weaken it. “Now’s the time to strengthen the establishments that uphold worldwide legislation, not dismantle them.”
Washington has sanctioned Francesca Albanese, the UN particular rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, over what Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as efforts to immediate ICC motion towards Israeli officers.
The Trump administration has additionally ended US participation within the UN Human Rights Council, halted funding to UNRWA and withdrawn from UNESCO and the World Well being Group.
In January, Trump ordered the US to go away dozens extra worldwide and UN our bodies, together with UN Ladies, the UN Inhabitants Fund and the UN local weather conference, saying they conflicted with US pursuits and sovereignty.
