International Criminal Court says it has taken steps to withstand potential US sanctions

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken steps to protect its operations from possible new US sanctions targeting the institution as a whole, Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan said in an interview published Friday.

“We have done a lot of work to ensure that the court is buffered from the impacts of any potential sanctions in the future,” Khan told the Financial Times.

She said ICC officials had heard rumors of further measures but had received no formal notification. The reported threat follows US sanctions on individual court officials, including Khan, imposed over the past year.

According to Khan, the court has shifted its office software from Microsoft to Germany‘s openDesk and made arrangements to limit potential disruption to banking, health insurance and payroll. Staff have also been paid months in advance.

The preparations remain a “work in progress,” she said.

The US administration has already sanctioned 13 ICC officials, including nine of the court’s 18 judges, according to the report. The measures have restricted some officials’ access to US credit cards and other services, it added.

The latest threat comes amid renewed criticism of the ICC by US President Donald Trump, who called on member states to leave the court during his address to the UN General Assembly this week.

Washington’s criticism intensified after the ICC issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza. The US and Israel are not ICC members; the court bases its jurisdiction in the case on Palestine’s membership.