US Sanctions ICC Judges, Issues New General Licenses
The U.S. this week sanctioned four International Criminal Court judges and issued several general licenses to authorize certain transactions with those judges or with the ICC that otherwise would be blocked by the Trump administration’s sanctions authorities against the judicial body (see 2502070022).
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The State Department said the sanctions were in response to ICC efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute U.S. or Israeli nationals "without consent" from those two countries. The U.S. has objected to arrest warrants issued by the ICC against Israeli officials who were accused by the court of war crimes in Gaza (see 2502130046).
"The ICC is politicized and falsely claims unfettered discretion to investigate, charge, and prosecute nationals of the United States and our allies," the State Department said. "This dangerous assertion and abuse of power infringes upon the sovereignty and national security of the United States and our allies, including Israel from the United States or Israel."
The new designations target Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini Gansou, Solomy Balungi Bossa, Beti Hohler and Luz Del Carmen Ibanez Carranza. OFAC also issued the following general licenses:
- General License 1 authorizes the wind-down of certain transactions with the four judges by 12:01 a.m. ET on July 8.
- General License 2 authorizes the provision of certain legal services that otherwise would be blocked by Trump’s executive order authorizing sanctions on the ICC.
- General License 3 authorizes the “receipt of payment of professional fees and reimbursement of incurred expenses” for the provision of those legal services from funds outside the U.S.
- General License 4 authorizes certain “nonscheduled emergency medical services” that otherwise would be blocked by the ICC executive order.
- General License 5 authorizes U.S. financial institutions to “debit any account blocked” under the executive order “in payment or reimbursement for normal service charges owed it by the owner of that blocked account.”
- General License 6 authorizes certain transactions related to the provision of agricultural commodities, medicine, medical devices, replacement parts and components, or software updates for personal, non-commercial use if those transactions otherwise would be blocked under the executive order.
- General License 7 authorizes certain transactions involving the conduct or official business of the U.S. government and its grantees or contractors.