The United States announced on Tuesday that it would impose sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) President Tomoko Akane and trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye, barring them from entering the U.S. and blocking transactions within the U.S. financial system.
The State Department stated the sanctions were in response to the ICC’s pursuit of investigations into officials whose governments have not consented to the court’s jurisdiction. A spokesperson for the department described the ICC as a “corrupt and fatally politicized supranational court that has maliciously abused its authority and exceeded its mandate.”
Akane, a Japanese legal scholar serving as ICC president, acknowledged the sanctions in a statement released via her publisher, Bungei Shunju, calling them “something I had anticipated to an extent.” She emphasized the need to prevent the measures from undermining international rule of law, stating: “The important thing is not to let this be the beginning of the demise of international rule of law.”
Seye, a Senegalese national and senior trial lawyer at the ICC, was also sanctioned alongside Akane. The ICC condemned the sanctions as a “flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution.”
The Japanese Foreign Ministry responded to the sanctions on Akane, calling them “very unfortunate.” A ministry spokesperson, Toshihiro Kitamura, affirmed Japan’s commitment to strengthening the rule of law globally while maintaining communication with allied nations.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, and European Union officials publicly supported the ICC, aligning with the court’s condemnation of the U.S. actions. The EU’s foreign policy chief described the sanctions as “unacceptable” and reiterated the bloc’s backing for the ICC’s independence.
The U.S. has never been a member of the ICC and has consistently rejected the court’s authority, a stance maintained across both Republican and Democratic administrations. The latest sanctions follow prior measures targeting other ICC officials, largely in response to the court’s investigations involving Israel, a key U.S. ally.
Japan, the ICC’s largest financial contributor, has historically supported the court’s mission to prosecute “the most serious crimes of concern to the international community.” Established in 2002, the ICC operates under the Rome Statute and investigates individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and aggression.