Trump Sanctions ICC for 'Illegitimate Probes'

Trump Sanctions International Criminal Court (ICC) for ‘Illegitimate Probes’

Explore the International Criminal Court (ICC), its role in prosecuting war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and its impact on global justice and accountability.

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Context: U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court for probes targeting America and its ally Israel. Trump stated that the court had “abused its power” by issuing an arrest warrant for visiting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who held talks with the U.S. President.

About International Criminal Court (ICC)

International Criminal Court (ICC) is a permanent judicial institution established in 2002 under the Rome Statute of 1998. It is headquartered in Hague, Netherlands.
Mandate: To investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate individuals accused of committing genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crimes of aggression.
Members: 123 (Important non-member countries: India, US, China & Russia)
Composition: The Court has 18 judges, each from a different member country, elected for a nine-year term.
ICC can only hear a case if either the country where the crime was committed or the perpetrator’s country of origin is a party to the Rome Statute.
After issuing an arrest warrant ICC relies on countries to make arrests and transfer suspects to the ICC.
Unlike the International Court of Justice (ICJ) it is not an organ of the United Nations.

Difference between ICC & ICJ

Parameter	ICC (International Criminal Court)	ICJ (International Court of Justice)
Establishment & HQ	2002, Hague (Netherlands)	1946, Hague (Netherlands)
UN Relation	Independent- may receive case referrals from UN Security Council	Official court of the UN, known as the World Court
Case types	Criminal prosecution of individuals	Contentious between parties, and advisory opinions
Subject matter	Genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, crimes of aggression	Maritime disputes, sovereignty, natural resources, trade, treaty violations and treaty interpretations, human rights, etc.
Funding	Contributions from parties to the Rome Statute, voluntary contributions from the UN, governments, corporations, organisations, etc.	UN