GENEVA - The United States must immediately withdraw sanctions against judges and prosecutors of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and repeal Executive Order 14203 of February 2025, a UN expert said today, after a fresh round of sanctions designations targeting judges was issued last month.
The latest round of designations on 18 December 2025, brings the total number of sanctioned ICC prosecutors and judges to 10.
"Sanctions targeting ICC justice personnel strike at the very heart of the promise born of the Rome Statute and the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials: a foundational pledge that no atrocity would go unanswered by international justice," warned
Margaret Satterthwaite, Special Rapporteur on Independence of judges and lawyers.
Ahead of the opening of the ICC's judicial year, Satterthwaite called for renewed support for the ICC, both political and financial.
"Sanctions send a chilling message to victims of atrocities and their advocates, who rely on judges and prosecutors for accountability, repair and reparation," the expert said.
"It is alarming that NGOs have also been sanctioned, and that victims themselves may fear punishment under the US sanctions regime, as the legal system allows for civil and criminal penalties, including imprisonment, against those transacting with sanctioned individuals and entities in some circumstances," Satterthwaite said.
The international community must act decisively to ensure that justice personnel are able to perform their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment or interference, the expert said.
"Judges, prosecutors and all those engaged in the enforcement of the rule of law and accountability for international crimes must not be subjected to intimidation, reprisals or punishment for carrying out their professional duties," Satterthwaite said. "Threats of prosecution, or administrative, economic or other coercive measures targeting them for the legitimate exercise of their functions, are an unacceptable assault on judicial independence, a deliberate obstruction of justice, and a grave threat to the rule of law and international accountability."
The expert has communicated her concerns to the United States of America.
