On Friday, United Nations experts urged the United States Senate to reject a bill passed by the House of Representatives that seeks to impose sanctions and cut funding to the International Criminal Court (ICC). This move comes as a response to the court issuing arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the country’s former Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, in November last year, over Israel’s war in Gaza.
“It is shocking to see a country that considers itself a champion of the rule of law trying to stymie the actions of an independent and impartial tribunal set up by the international community, to thwart accountability,” the experts said.
On Thursday, the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of the US Congress passed the ‘Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act’ by an overwhelming margin of 243 to 140, with 45 Democrats joining 198 Republicans in backing the bill. The bill which now heads to the Senate, proposes sanctions for any individual working to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute a US citizen or an official from an allied US country, including Israel, who are not members of the court.
The sanctions would also include freezing of US property assets as well as revoking visas of any foreigners who materially or financially contribute to the court’s efforts.
Netanyahu and Gallant were accused of “crimes against humanity and war crimes committed from at least 8 October 2023 until at least 20 May 2024”, in a statement released by the ICC in November last year, leading the court to issue arrest warrants against the two, along with Hamas’s military commander Mohammed al-Masri, known as Mohammed Deif. The court also alleged “reasonable grounds” to believe that Gallant and Netanyahu “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
In retaliation to the arrest warrants, the proposed bill also seeks to rescind any funds the US has designated for the ICC and prohibit any future money for the court.
Recalling that the court is the legacy of the Nuremberg trials, the experts said that the ICC has the mandate to investigate and prosecute individuals for the grave international crimes of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
The experts also called on ICC State Parties and other nations to uphold international standards and protect the independence and safety of legal professionals, emphasizing that lawyers and justice personnel should be able to perform their duties free from intimidation, harassment, or improper interference.
“Imposing sanctions on justice personnel for fulfilling their professional responsibilities is a blatant violation of human rights, striking at the core of judicial independence and the rule of law. The passage of a bill that creates a blind spot for justice regarding certain countries not only legalises double standards and impunity but irreparably undermines the spirit of universality that the international justice system is built upon,” the experts said. “Such actions erode public trust in the impartiality and integrity of justice and set a dangerous precedent, politicising judicial functions and weakening the global commitment to accountability and fairness,” they further added.
The experts warned that if carried out, the sanctions would amount to violating Article 70 of the Rome Statute, which punishes efforts to impede or intimidate an official of the Court or to retaliate against them on account of duties performed by that official.
The experts have communicated these concerns to the US.
“We urge US lawmakers to uphold the rule of law and the independence of judges and lawyers, and we call on States to respect the Court’s independence as a judicial institution and protect the independence and impartiality of those who work within the Court,” the experts said.
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