US sanctions International Criminal Court itself, adding institution to OFAC SDN List

WASHINGTON, October 9, 2026 — The United States imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court itself Friday, adding the Hague-based institution to its list of specially designated nationals and expanding restrictions previously directed at individual court officials.

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the ICC under Executive Order 14203, which President Donald Trump signed in February 2025 in response to investigations and proceedings involving U.S. personnel and officials from allied countries, including Israel.

The designation marks a significant escalation in Washington's sanctions campaign against the court, which prosecutes individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. Unlike previous measures targeting individual judges and prosecutors, Friday's action places the institution itself on OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List. The designation generally freezes the court's assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits U.S. individuals and businesses from conducting transactions with the institution unless authorized by OFAC.

However, the Treasury Department simultaneously issued four general licenses permitting certain activities to continue. General License 13 authorizes transactions necessary to maintain or wind down the court's operations, contracts and agreements through April 7, 2027. The authorization covers contributions from member states, employee salaries, medical services, rent, utilities and other routine expenses. General License 14 permits telecommunications, internet services, cybersecurity, cloud computing and enterprise software transactions involving the ICC. A third license authorizes certain pension payments, while a fourth permits transactions necessary for the continued detention and welfare of nine named individuals held by the court, including former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.

The licenses allow specified operations to continue despite the institution's blocked status, although restrictions remain on transactions involving separately sanctioned individuals unless otherwise authorized. The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, the treaty establishing the ICC, and has long disputed the court's jurisdiction over American nationals. The Trump administration has also opposed the ICC's actions concerning Israeli officials. Washington previously sanctioned several ICC officials, including judges and prosecutors, under the same executive order. In August 2026, OFAC designated ICC officials Tomoko Akane and Abdoulaye Seye.

Friday's decision extends those measures directly to the court as a legal entity, creating broader sanctions exposure for financial institutions and businesses dealing with the organization, subject to the newly issued licenses. The Treasury Department announced the designation alongside an unrelated $175,015 sanctions settlement with Pegasus Worldwide Logistics and the removal of a Myanmar national from the SDN List.