How does the International Criminal Court work and what do US sanctions mean for it?
The ICC prosecutes genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes when national courts won't, and US sanctions on its officials in 2020 were reversed in 2021.
Covers: This page explains the ICC's structure, jurisdiction, and case process, then examines the US sanctions imposed on ICC officials and what they mean for the court's investigations, staff, and international support. It does not cover every ongoing ICC case in detail or the full history of US-ICC relations.
Also answers: How does the ICC work? · What are US sanctions on the International Criminal Court? · International Criminal Court explained · US sanctions against ICC officials meaning
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The short answer
Evidence-backed AI-prepared starting mapThe International Criminal Court (ICC) is a permanent court that prosecutes genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes when national justice systems are unwilling or unable to do so themselves; it descends from the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials and the ad hoc tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and operates under the 1998 Rome Statute, the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, and the Elements of Crimes. In September 2020 the United States sanctioned ICC officials, including prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, freezing possible US assets and barring access to the American financial system, with anyone materially assisting them also exposed to sanctions; the stated reason was that the ICC continued to target Americans, following June 2020 authorization of economic sanctions aimed at dissuading prosecution of US military personnel over Afghanistan. The Biden administration reversed these measures on April 1, 2021, removing Bensouda and Phakiso Mochochoko from the Treasury's sanctions list, a move welcomed by the ICC, the EU and human rights groups.123
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The ICC is a permanent court prosecuting genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes when national systems are unwilling or unable to act, operating under the Rome Statute, the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and the Elements of Crimes.1
Evidence-backedIn September 2020 the US sanctioned ICC officials including prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, freezing possible US assets and barring access to the US financial system, with anyone materially assisting them also exposed; the stated trigger was the court's targeting of Americans, after June 2020 authorization tied to the Afghanistan prosecution.2
Evidence-backedThe Biden administration reversed those sanctions on April 1, 2021, removing Bensouda and Phakiso Mochochoko from the Treasury sanctions list, a step welcomed by the ICC, the EU and human rights groups.3
Evidence-backedCriticism of US penalties has continued at a high level, with Nobel laureate Navi Pillay calling sweeping penalties on the tribunal "unheard of" and "unacceptable".4
Evidence-backedThe court's effectiveness is constrained less by its legal design than by politics: jurisdictional gaps, enforcement paralysis and great-power influence recur across atrocity-crime cases.5
Evidence-backed
At a glance
What this page stands on
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The evidence behind it
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When it was published
Newest from 2026
| Source | Kind | Year |
|---|---|---|
| US Sanctions Against the International Criminal Court: Where is International Law Going? | Other studies and data | 2020 |
| An Introduction to the International Criminal Court | Other studies and data | 2001 |
| The International Criminal Court | Other studies and data | 2006 |
| Biden Administration Rescinds Sanctions Against International Criminal Court Officials | Other studies and data | 2021 |
| International legal responses to war crimes and genocide: a comparative analysis of Gaza, Ukraine, and Myanmar. | Other studies and data | 2026 |
| Nobel peace laureate says US sanctions on ICC 'unacceptable' | Background | 2026 |
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What it means for you
Which fits you?
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If you want to understand the court's basic machinery
start from the Rome Statute, the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and the Elements of Crimes, which set out jurisdiction and the procedural regime, and note that the court acts only where national justice systems are unwilling or unable to prosecute.1
Evidence-backedIf you are tracing the 2020 US sanctions
the key facts are the September 2, 2020 announcement against ICC officials and prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, asset freezes and loss of access to the US financial system, and the warning that anyone materially assisting them could also be sanctioned.2
Evidence-backedIf you are asking whether those sanctions still apply
the April 1, 2021 executive order rescinded them and removed Bensouda and Phakiso Mochochoko from the Treasury's specially designated nationals list, so the 2020 measures described here were lifted.3
Evidence-backedIf you are weighing claims that sanctions are unprecedented or unacceptable
that framing comes from Nobel laureate Navi Pillay, who called sweeping US penalties on the tribunal "unheard of" and "unacceptable"; treat it as a prominent critical view rather than a settled legal finding.4
Evidence-backedIf you are assessing how much sanctions can realistically change ICC outcomes
expect political pressure to matter: analyses of atrocity-crime accountability find jurisdictional gaps, enforcement paralysis and great-power politics decisively shape what international courts can achieve.5
Evidence-backedIf you are interested in the politics around the court rather than its procedure
a political-science account frames the ICC as a site of continuing clashes between opposing states, particularly the United States, and defending states, with civil-society pressure pushing toward more transparent and deliberative decision-making.6
Evidence-backedThe full story · 2 chapters
01
How the ICC works: structure, jurisdiction and case process
AI summary:The ICC is a permanent court built on the Rome Statute and related documents, but politics and great-power influence limit how effectively it can act.
Evidence-backed: The ICC is a permanent international court, described as arguably the most significant international organization created since the United Nations and the direct descendant of the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials and the tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. It prosecutes genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes when national justice systems are themselves unwilling or unable to act. Its operation rests on three fundamental documents: the 1998 Rome Statute, the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, and the Elements of Crimes.1
Evidence-backed: The court's design is inseparable from politics. A political-science account describes ongoing clashes between states that oppose the court, particularly the United States, and those that defend it, and argues that global civil society contributes to more transparent, deliberative and ethical international decision-making than isolated sovereign states or exclusive state-to-state diplomacy.6
Evidence-backed: A comparative study of atrocity-crime responses in Gaza, Ukraine and Myanmar places the ICC alongside the International Court of Justice and national courts exercising universal jurisdiction. It finds that despite institutional expansion, effectiveness is undermined by jurisdictional gaps, enforcement paralysis and the decisive influence of great-power politics, and concludes that legal mechanisms cannot be divorced from their political realities, with selective enforcement exacerbating collective trauma and destabilizing the international system.5
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02
US sanctions on ICC officials: what happened and what it meant
Evidence-backed: On September 2, 2020, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced sanctions on ICC officials and prosecutor Fatou Bensouda. Under the measures, their possible assets in the United States would be frozen and access to the American financial system barred. The stated reason was that the ICC continued to target Americans, and the announcement warned that any individual or entity continuing to assist these people materially would also be subject to sanctions. This followed June 2020 authorization of economic sanctions against ICC officials intended to dissuade the court from prosecuting American military personnel for their involvement in the conflict in Afghanistan.2
Evidence-backed: On April 1, 2021, the Biden administration issued an executive order reversing the Trump administration's sanctions on ICC personnel. It rescinded the sanctions on prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and on Phakiso Mochochoko, head of the Office of the Prosecutor's Jurisdiction, Complementarity, and Cooperation Division, and removed both from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons. The ICC, the European Union and human rights groups welcomed the reversal.3
Evidence-backed: Later criticism of US penalties has been voiced at the highest profile: Nobel peace laureate Navi Pillay said sweeping US penalties on the international tribunal were "unheard of" and "unacceptable". The report does not set out which penalties, when they were imposed, or whom they target.4
Interpretation: Read together, the record shows sanctions being used as a political instrument against the court rather than as a judicial measure: they were announced in response to the court's targeting of Americans, aimed at dissuading a specific prosecution, and then withdrawn by a successor administration. That pattern fits the broader finding that great-power politics decisively shapes whether international justice mechanisms can act.235
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The Biden administration reversed those sanctions on April , 2021, removing Bensouda and Phakiso Mochochoko from the Treasury sanctions list, a step welcomed by the ICC, the EU and human rights groups.
The ICC is a permanent court prosecuting genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes when national systems are unwilling or unable to act, operating under the Rome Statute, the Rules of Procedure and Evidence and the Elements of Crimes.
In September 2020 the US sanctioned ICC officials including prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, freezing possible US assets and barring access to the US financial system, with anyone materially assisting them also exposed; the stated trigger was the court's targeting of Americans, after June 2020 authorization tied to the Afghanistan prosecution.
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- 1An Introduction to the International Criminal CourtCambridge University Press eBooks (Schabas)Published Jul 5, 2001Checked Oct 11, 2026
“Arguably the most significant international organization to be created since the United Nations, the International Criminal Court ushers in a new era in the protection of human rights. The direct descendant of the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, as well as those of the more recent international criminal tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, the International Criminal Court will prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes when national justice systems are either unwilling or unable to do so themselves. This new book reviews the history of international criminal prosecution, the drafting of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the principles of its operation, including the scope of its jurisdiction and the procedural regime. Three of the Court's fundamental documents - the 1998 Rome Statute itself, the Rules of Procedure and Evidence, and the Elements of Crimes - are reproduced in the Appendix. Indispensable for students and practitioners.”
- 2US Sanctions Against the International Criminal Court: Where is International Law Going?SSRN Electronic Journal (Poorhashemi)Published Sep 15, 2020Checked Oct 11, 2026
“On September 2, 2020, US Foreign Minister Mike Pompeo announced United States sanctions of ICC officials and its prosecutor Ms. Fatou Bensouda. Based on this sanction, their possible assets in the US will be frozen, and access to the American financial system is barred. The reason for this sanction is because the ICC continues to target Americans. According to his press conference statement, any individual or entity that continues to assist these individuals materially is also subject to sanctions. President Trump is already engaged in an unprecedented offensive against the ICC. In June 2020, he authorized economic sanctions against officials of the ICC to dissuade the jurisdiction from prosecuting the American military for their involvement in the conflict in Afghanistan.”
- 3Biden Administration Rescinds Sanctions Against International Criminal Court OfficialsAmerican Journal of International LawPublished Oct 1, 2021Checked Oct 11, 2026
“On April 1, 2021, the Biden administration issued an executive order reversing the Trump administration's sanctions on International Criminal Court (ICC) personnel. The administration rescinded the sanctions placed upon the ICC prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and the head of the Office of the Prosecutor's Jurisdiction, Complementarity, and Cooperation Division, Phakiso Mochochoko, and removed the officials from the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons. The ICC, European Union (EU), and human rights groups welcomed the reversal.”
- 4Nobel peace laureate says US sanctions on ICC 'unacceptable'BBC NewsPublished Oct 10, 2026Checked Oct 11, 2026
“Navi Pillay says the Trump administrations' sweeping penalties on the international tribunal were "unheard of".”
- 5International legal responses to war crimes and genocide: a comparative analysis of Gaza, Ukraine, and Myanmar.Frontiers in sociology (Khwaileh et al.)Published Jul 3, 2026Checked Oct 11, 2026
“It reviews the legal definitions of atrocity crimes under the Geneva Conventions, the 1948 Genocide Convention, and the Rome Statute, before examining principal accountability mechanisms, notably the International Criminal Court (ICC), the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and national courts exercising universal jurisdiction. The analysis demonstrates how each case mobilizes international justice while navigating profound political and social obstacles. Despite institutional expansion, persistent challenges undermine effectiveness, including jurisdictional gaps, enforcement paralysis, and the decisive influence of great-power politics. The findings reveal that legal mechanisms cannot be divorced from their political realities, selective enforcement exacerbates collective trauma and destabilizes the international system. The research concludes that confronting impunity requires a multifaceted approach that integrates individual criminal liability, state responsibility, and a renewed political commitment to the ethical dimensions of global governance.”
- 6The International Criminal CourtRoutledge eBooks (Glasius)Published Mar 29, 2006Checked Oct 11, 2026
“A new examination of the International Criminal Court (ICC) from a political science and international relations perspective. It describes the main features of the court and discusses the political negotiations and the on-going clashes between those states who oppose the court, particularly the United States, and those who defend it. It also makes these issues accessible to non-lawyers and presents effective advocacy strategies for non-governmental organizations. It also delivers essential background to the place of the US in international relations and makes a major contribution to thinking about the ICC’s future. While global civil society does not deliver global democracy, it does contribute to more transparent, more deliberative and more ethical international decision-making which is ultimately preferable to a world of isolated sovereign states with no accountability outside their borders, or exclusive and secretive state-to-state diplomacy. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of international relations, international law, globalization and global governance.”
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