The U.S. has imposed sanctions on two International Criminal Court (ICC) judges, Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia. Lordkipanidze served as the Minister of Justice of Georgia from 2020 to 2021 and as Deputy Minister from 2012 to 2020.
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On December 18, the U.S. Secretary of State stated that these judges were directly involved in the International Criminal Court's efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli citizens without Israel's approval. The court also rejected Israel's request to suspend its ongoing investigation into alleged crimes in Gaza.
“The ICC has continued to engage in politicised actions targeting Israel, which set a dangerous precedent for all nations. We will not tolerate ICC abuses of power that violate the sovereignty of the United States and Israel and wrongly subject U.S. and Israeli persons to the ICC’s jurisdiction.
Our message to the Court has been clear: the United States and Israel are not party to the Rome Statute and therefore reject the ICC’s jurisdiction. We will continue to respond with significant and tangible consequences to the ICC’s lawfare and overreach,” stated Marco Rubio.
The International Criminal Court in The Hague condemned the new sanctions, calling them “a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution.”
The court stated it has the authority to investigate violations within the borders of states that are parties to the Rome Statute, including the Palestinian territories.
In November 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders, on charges of alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Trump administration responded by imposing sanctions on the judges of the Court and its chief prosecutor.
