Why It Matters

The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet held a hearing titled "The International Criminal Court's Threat To The Sovereignty Of The United States And Its Allies" on Sept. 15 as the Trump administration escalates pressure on the International Criminal Court through sanctions and diplomatic action.

The hearing examined what the Republican-led subcommittee described as threats to U.S. sovereignty posed by the ICC, including its efforts to assert jurisdiction over nationals of countries that are not parties to the Rome Statute.

The hearing came nearly a month after the administration sanctioned ICC President Tomoko Akane of Japan and ICC Senior Trial Lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal under Executive Order 14203. President Donald Trump issued the order on Feb. 6, 2025, establishing a framework for sanctions against certain ICC officials. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control added Akane and Seye to its Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List on Aug. 18.

OFAC simultaneously issued a general license allowing certain transactions necessary to wind down dealings involving Akane and Seye through Sept. 17. The license provided a temporary exception for those transactions rather than delaying the Aug. 18 sanctions designations.

The State Department has described its effort against the ICC as a whole-of-government campaign and said the administration is prepared to take additional measures against the court.

The Hearing

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), chair of the subcommittee, led the hearing. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) serves as ranking member.

The subcommittee heard testimony from two witnesses: Stu Smith, an investigative analyst at City Journal, a publication of the Manhattan Institute, and Abraham Bell, a professor of law at the University of San Diego School of Law.

The hearing focused on the ICC's jurisdiction over nationals of countries that have not joined the Rome Statute and the legal and constitutional implications of a foreign tribunal seeking to investigate or prosecute U.S. citizens and service members.

Broader Context

Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger announced their withdrawals from the Rome Statute and formally notified the United Nations in June, beginning the process of leaving the ICC.

The withdrawals come as the Trump administration seeks to persuade other countries to reduce their support for the ICC. The administration has argued that the court has exceeded its authority by asserting jurisdiction over nationals of countries, including the United States, that have not consented to ICC jurisdiction or ratified the Rome Statute.

The ICC and its supporters have pushed back against U.S. pressure and maintained that the court's work is grounded in the Rome Statute. Despite the withdrawals and sanctions, the court continues investigations and judicial proceedings involving alleged genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.

The Bottom Line

The Sept. 15 hearing underscored the Trump administration's escalating confrontation with the ICC and congressional concerns about the court's authority over Americans and nationals of other countries that have not joined the Rome Statute. With the administration imposing sanctions and Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger moving to withdraw, the dispute over the ICC increasingly centers on competing views of national sovereignty and the reach of international criminal law.

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