# Executive Order: Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court
This Executive Order declares a national emergency to address what the administration characterizes as "illegitimate and baseless actions" by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against the United States and Israel. The order frames the ICC's jurisdiction claims and investigations concerning U.S. and Israeli personnel, including arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, as direct threats to U.S. sovereignty and national security. Citing that neither the U.S. nor Israel is party to the Rome Statute establishing the ICC, the order asserts these nations are "thriving democracies with militaries that strictly adhere to the laws of war" and invokes the American Servicemembers' Protection Act of 2002 as legislative precedent for protecting U.S. personnel from ICC prosecution.
The order establishes comprehensive sanctions mechanisms targeting ICC officials involved in investigating or prosecuting U.S. or allied personnel without consent. Specifically, it blocks all U.S.-based property and interests of designated persons, prohibits financial transactions with them, bans donations to them, and suspends their entry into the United States. The order names an initial individual in an annex and authorizes the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Treasury Secretary and Attorney General, to designate additional foreign persons who: directly engage in investigations of "protected persons," materially assist such activities, or are owned/controlled by blocked persons. The travel ban extends to immediate family members of designated individuals and ICC employees or agents.
Implementation responsibilities are distributed across multiple agencies, with the Treasury Secretary authorized to develop rules and regulations in consultation with the State Department. The Secretary of the Treasury must submit a report within 60 days identifying additional persons for potential sanctions. The State Department will handle visa restrictions with input from Homeland Security. The order creates broad protections for government business while applying sanctions to any attempts to evade them. It explicitly defines "protected persons" to include U.S. citizens, officials, military members, and government employees, as well as similar categories from NATO members and major non-NATO allies. While asserting strong opposition to ICC jurisdiction, the order maintains the administration remains "committed to accountability and to the peaceful cultivation of international order," suggesting these sanctions represent a targeted approach rather than a wholesale rejection of international justice mechanisms.