South African judge wins peace prize, Trump takes action... US announces sanctions on International Criminal Court, Japan, UK, 8 countries disagree

The US government increased pressure on the 9th and announced sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC stated that it "strongly rejects" U.S. sanctions, and president Tomoko Akane said the court would not give in to threats.

Secretary of State Rubio said that the United States has never joined this "rogue court" and "we don't need it and we don't want it." He said President Trump would never allow the ICC to prosecute Americans and therefore decided to "cut off its resources and paralyze its ability to operate."

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Not allowed to prosecute Americans ICC: No surrender

The timing of the U.S. announcement came just hours after South African Judge Pillay, who once served at the ICC, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, but Rubio did not mention this in his statement.

The sanction comes with a number of exemptions and a six-month grace period. Rubio said that the ICC and its state parties have not addressed U.S. concerns for more than a year, but the United States still hopes to resolve them diplomatically and therefore gives state parties an opportunity to respond.

Rubio also called on allies to restrain the ICC, pointing out that many allies rely on the U.S. military for defense. He warned that if the problem is not resolved, the United States will continue to "dismantle this court brick by brick" and emphasized that "either the ICC stops threatening, or we end the ICC." The Trump administration has previously sanctioned 17 people, including the ICC president, prosecutors and judges.

Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement on the same day, expressing "regret and strong disagreement" with the US sanctions, reiterating their firm support for the ICC and committing to continue to maintain the norms-based international system and accountability mechanism. The European Union also expressed "deep regret" over the sanctions.

The ICC and Tomoko Akane stated that the U.S. sanctions are an attack on the rule of law and the foundation of the international legal order, impacting the basic principle that "no one is above the law." The ICC will not retreat or give in, and will continue to perform its duties. Akane also called on the state parties to support the court and safeguard the international order.