ICC ‘buffered’ itself against US sanctions, deputy prosecutor says

The International Criminal Court is ready to insulate itself against potential court-wide sanctions that could be imposed by the US.

In an interview with Financial Times, court deputy prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan said, “The law must prevail over power.”

“I’m not waiting. I think the lesson in resilience, this lesson in dedication, in maintaining the work of the court, that’s now. That’s something we must do now.”

According to the deputy prosecutor, ICC has "buffered" itself against sanctions from the United States amid mounting pressure from the Trump administration.

To bypass US financial and technological restrictions, the ICC has overhauled its systems, including shifting its office software from Microsoft to Germany's openDesk, finding workarounds for banking and health insurance, and paying employees months in advance.

“We’ve been working on this for some time . . . ensuring that we are autonomous for the future,” she added.

The US has already sanctioned 13 court officials including Nazhat and half of the ICC’s 18 judges, causing practical hardships like cancelled hotel reservations, blocked US credit cards and over-compliance by global financial and tech institutions.

President Donald Trump recently branded the ICC an "evil group of people" at the UN General Assembly and called for member states to resign.

This follows the ICC's 2024 arrest warrants for Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, as well as a campaign by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to dismantle the court.