ICC leaders condemn efforts to erode international legal order

The current and former heads of the ICC’s governing body say pressure on the court threatens international law, as Washington widens sanctions and retreats from multilateral institutions.The current and former presidents of the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) governing body have said that efforts to isolate the institution diplomatically are aimed at eroding confidence in the international legal ⁠order, as US President Donald Trump’s administration has pressured countries to isolate the ICC.“Efforts to isolate the Court diplomatically – whether by encouraging States Parties to withdraw from the Rome Statute or urging non-States Parties to join measures ⁠intended to weaken it – are aimed at eroding not only one institution, but confidence in the international legal order itself,” Paivi Kaukoranta, the current president of the ICC’s Assembly of States Parties, and seven former presidents said in a joint op-ed published on Thursday.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4ICC condemns US sanctions as ‘flagrant attack’ on court’s independencelist 2 of 4US sanctions International Criminal Court president and trial lawyerlist 3 of 4Could US sanctions destroy the International Criminal Court?list 4 of 4Hegseth cautions that ICC may investigate US boat strikes in Latin Americaend of listIn the piece that appeared on the Just Security law and policy journal’s website, they argued that the ICC represented a collective decision by sovereign states to create rules for prosecuting genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. The court, they stressed, is not intended to replace national justice systems.“The ICC is a court of last resort,” the authors wrote.They also rejected the argument that the court necessarily undermines state sovereignty, saying that countries joining international treaties and institutions are exercising sovereignty rather than surrendering it.A poster announcing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as wanted by the International Criminal Court, on October 6, 2025, in Krakow, Poland [Klaudia Radecka/NurPhoto via Getty Images]The statement comes as the Trump administration sanctioned ICC judges and officials and pressured countries to distance themselves from the court.