Allies frown as US sanctions ICC after Navi Pillay wins Nobel Peace Prize

The US, on Friday, imposed sweeping sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), hours after former court judge Navi Pillay was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize.

Reuters reported that the Donald Trump administration was imposing new sanctions aimed at punishing companies that provide services to the court.

The sanctions bar all US-based companies from working with the organisation. This will force banks to close accounts, insurers to end coverage, and software companies to halt cooperation.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the court as rogue and noted that it will never be able “to prosecute Americans.”

“That is why, today, the United States is sanctioning the International Criminal Court. We will ban transactions with this rogue court, cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate,” he said

Although the US had imposed unilateral sanctions on some ICC officials and prosecutors, this is the first sanction on the court itself, a move that has been condemned by the international community, including US allies. The ICC sanctions come hours after the Nobel committee awarded the Peace Prize, which the US President coveted and strongly campaigned for last year, to South African jurist Navi Pillay. She sat on the ICC’s Appeals ​Chamber from 2003-2008.

The US government previously sanctioned officials of the Hague-based court for issuing arrest warrants for the Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

It had previously also asked the ICC to amend the Rome Statute, its founding document, to stop the court from investigating Mr Trump and his top officials at the end of his administration.

The latest sanctions provide a six-month initial grace period, which Mr Rubio said would allow the court and its member states to address US concerns.

It also included exemptions that would allow some transactions for telecoms, software, pension payments, and transactions related to detainees.

The ICC has, however, criticised the US action, describing it as an assault on the rule of law and on the foundations of the international legal order.

The Hague called on its 125 member states to defend it.

ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Khan said the sanctions are intended to undermine the rule of law internationally and the work of an independent judicial institution.

“Our work ⁠will continue across all our situations, our investigations and our prosecutions.”

The Nobel Committee has also expressed support for the court, describing US sanctions as a political attack which threatens the legal order.

“An international legal system in which war criminals are held to account, and the victims of abuse see justice served is a precondition for a peaceful world,” the prize committee said.

Mr Trump’s actions put the country at odds with its traditional allies.

Several European countries rejected the US sanctions against the ICC. Canada and Japan also declared their “strong disagreement” with the US.

In a joint statement on Friday, the countries criticised Washington’s decision to impose sanctions on the court. The statement was signed by Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

“We regret and strongly disagree with the announcement of sanctions to be imposed upon the Court by the United States,” it said.

Several European leaders have also pointed out that US actions will have “enormous consequences for the court’s work and for the investigation of the most serious international crimes.”