U.S. Media: America Plans to Undermine the International Criminal Court

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Trump administration is preparing a sweeping sanctions campaign targeting the International Criminal Court (ICC), aiming to sever the institution’s ties with the global financial system. The trigger was the ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, alleging war crimes committed in Gaza.

Reporting indicates that after a six- to seven-month transition period, the sanctions would freeze the ICC’s core operations. The measures would restrict the court’s access to U.S. dollar settlement channels and cut off its connectivity with most of the global financial infrastructure—potentially bringing the institution to a standstill.

U.S. Secretary of State Rubio stated plainly that the United States could “gradually dismantle” the court. He argued that the ICC’s prosecution of public officials from non-member states constitutes a threat to American sovereignty.

This approach marks a significant escalation from earlier targeted sanctions against individual ICC personnel. Previously, actions were described as “a precise surgical strike”; now, they amount to “cutting off the power supply to the entire institution.”

The United States is not deploying military forces into The Hague, but instead leveraging financial dominance to achieve remote disintegration:

1. The “Hostage Effect” of the Dollar System

All global dollar clearing must go through U.S.-based correspondent banks. Once the ICC is designated as a sanctioned entity, any financial institution continuing to serve it risks losing access to U.S. dollar channels. As a result, non-U.S. banks may proactively over-comply with sanctions out of caution.

2. Precedent of “Financial Death Penalty” Through Personal Sanctions

Previous sanctions on ICC judges have already demonstrated the severity of such measures:

- Bank accounts frozen, credit cards canceled;

- Microsoft shut down ICC email services, Amazon Alexa ceased support;

- E-books disappeared from devices belonging to a Canadian judge;

- Non-U.S. banks, fearful of secondary sanctions, declined to provide services.

3. Cascading Collapse of Institutional Function

The ICC’s 2026 budget totals approximately €197.5 million, funded by member states. While funding sources appear diversified, all financial flows ultimately pass through global banking and clearing systems—systems deeply sensitive to U.S. influence.

Once sanctions take effect, the ICC would be unable to: pay staff salaries (including dozens of U.S. employees), procure IT services and insurance, hire investigators, or cover witness compensation.

When a superpower selectively upholds only those international rules that serve its interests—and employs all available instruments to dismantle judicial bodies it rejects—the credibility of the global governance architecture faces unprecedented erosion.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1876910881448203/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.