U.S. Sanctions ICC Judges Over Israel Investigation

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on two judges of the International Criminal Court’s Appeals Chamber over their role in rulings connected to investigations against Israel. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the designations against Judge Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Judge Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia.

The sanctions follow a December 15 ruling in which the ICC’s Appeals Chamber rejected an Israeli legal challenge to the Court’s investigation into alleged crimes in Gaza. Israel argued that the war that began after Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack could not automatically be examined under an older ICC investigation, and that the Court would need to formally approve a new investigation before reviewing Israel’s actions in the current war. The judges rejected that argument, ruling that the existing investigation was broad enough to include events after October 7 and could continue without a new authorization.

In a statement, Rubio said the judges had “directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent.” He argued that the Court’s actions were politicized and set a dangerous precedent, stressing that the United States and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute and therefore reject the ICC’s jurisdiction. “We will continue to respond with significant and tangible consequences to the ICC’s lawfare and overreach,” Rubio said. In a separate post on X, he added that the measures were meant to protect U.S. and Israeli sovereignty from “abuse of power.”

The sanctions bar the judges from traveling to the United States and from holding any assets under U.S. jurisdiction. They also make it virtually impossible for them to maintain access to U.S.-linked financial services, including credit cards, complicating routine transactions and online purchases.

Israeli officials welcomed the move. Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon praised the decision, saying that “the politicization of the Court and the persecution of Israel cross a red line,” and adding that “those who exploit international institutions to harm a democracy that defends itself should pay a price.” Avigdor Lieberman also welcomed the sanctions, calling them an “excellent and necessary decision,” and saying Israel does not expect preferential treatment from international institutions, “but it certainly expects fairness and professionalism.” He added that “in a fair and unbiased process, the entire world will see that Israel is in the right.”

The Prime Minister’s Office issued a sharply worded statement congratulating the United States for sanctioning the two judges and praising what it called the decisive leadership of Marco Rubio and President Donald Trump in confronting international lawfare. The statement said Judges Lordkipanidze and Damdin had sided with ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan in a “legally specious effort to criminalize the State of Israel,” adding that their actions once again proved that the ICC is “not a court of law, but a political tool of international lawfare.” The PMO said that as long as the Court refuses to recognize that it has no jurisdiction over non-member states and ignores its own rules, it cannot be treated as a legitimate legal institution.

The ICC condemned the sanctions, calling them “a flagrant attack against the independence of an impartial judicial institution.” In a press release, the Court said the measures undermine the rule of law and place the international legal order at risk, adding that it stands behind its judges, prosecutors, and victims while continuing its work under the Rome Statute.

In Washington, Senator John Fetterman said the ICC has “zero jurisdiction in the United States or Israel,” adding that “any threats to arrest Israel’s prime minister in our nation are hot air and unenforceable.” Senator Lindsey Graham also praised the decision, saying the ICC “was designed to go after bad actors and rogue nations — not countries like Israel,” which he said has “one of the strongest independent judicial systems in the world.” Graham warned that the Court is “incredibly biased when it comes to Israel” and said he fears its actions against Israel could be “a prelude to an assault on the United States.”

The ICC is the world’s permanent war crimes tribunal, with 125 member states, including all European Union countries. Major powers such as the United States, Israel, China, and Russia are not members. The Palestinian territories were admitted as a member state in 2015, a step that underpins the Court’s claimed jurisdiction in cases involving Israel.