Some International Criminal Court staff are experiencing banking difficulties ahead of the formal implementation of newly announced US sanctions, ICC deputy prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan said in an interview with The Guardian.
Khan said banks were “over complying” to minimise risk while the scope of the measures remains uncertain. The sanctions, announced by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on 9 October, are not due to take effect for six months, according to The Guardian’s report.
The court’s investigations are continuing, Khan said, and officials have made no decision to reduce its capability or output. She said the Gaza investigation and other cases had made significant progress, while applications for further arrest warrants are being kept secret under a court order.
The ICC has switched its software from Microsoft to European alternatives and is negotiating with relevant service providers over banking and health insurance, The Guardian reported. Khan said the full impact of the sanctions would be difficult to anticipate before they formally take effect.
The latest measures follow a February 6, 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump. The order authorizes the blocking of property linked to people determined to have engaged in specified efforts involving the ICC, and suspends, subject to exceptions, entry into the United States for certain ICC officials, employees, agents and their immediate family members, according to the White House order.
The Guardian reported that the ICC registrar is negotiating with the European Union over ways to block or protect the court from the US measures. The fetched documents do not establish whether those negotiations will change the sanctions’ eventual scope or prevent further disruption to staff services.