On October 9, 2026 (local time), the Government of the United States designated the International Criminal Court (ICC) itself as a target of sanctions. Sanctions previously directed at individual judges and prosecutors have thus been extended to the Court as an institution.
The ICC is the only permanent international judicial institution mandated to prosecute the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, including crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes. These measures risk gravely affecting the Court’s judicial activities as a whole and, in turn, the path to justice for victims of the most serious crimes. We are deeply concerned that an independent judicial institution should be subjected to sanctions for having discharged its mandate.
On the same day, it was announced that the Nobel Peace Prize would be awarded to Navi Pillay, a former judge of the ICC. At a time when the role played by international judicial institutions has been met with such recognition and expectation, safeguarding the independence and functioning of the Court is all the more imperative.
Notwithstanding these circumstances, our Center remains steadfast in its commitment to advancing the dissemination of international criminal law and further strengthening international criminal justice in the Asia-Pacific region through research, education, and dialogue.
October 10, 2026
Philipp Osten
Director, Center for International Criminal Justice
ICC Asia-Pacific Academic Network Office