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South African jurist Navi Pillay voiced strong opposition to the US decision to sanction the International Criminal Court during a video link appearance at an event in Oslo according to reports from multiple news outlets including the BBC. The 85-year-old former ICC judge who received the Nobel Peace Prize the previous day described the measures as creating significant tension and anxiety over the future of international courts. “There is so much tension and anxiety over the continued existence of international courts mainly the International Criminal Court in The Hague” Pillay said. She added that sanctions against judges for issuing judicial orders were “unheard of unacceptable” while noting that hundreds of staff at the court felt under threat.
The sanctions were announced by the US State Department on October 9 2026 just hours after the Nobel committee revealed Pillay as the laureate Reuters reported. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the action aimed to defend US sovereignty and prevent the court from prosecuting Americans. “President Trump will never allow the International Criminal Court to prosecute Americans” Rubio said in a statement. “We will ban transactions with this rogue court cutting off their resources and crippling its ability to operate.”
The measures target the ICC as an institution for the first time expanding on prior sanctions against individual judges and officials a CNN review found. They include a ban on US entities engaging in transactions with the court though a six-month grace period and exemptions for certain activities such as pensions and detainee-related matters have been included according to the US Treasury announcement. The International Criminal Court condemned the sanctions as an assault on the rule of law warning that history would judge this moment the court said in its official response.
Human Rights Watch described the US action as an unprecedented assault on global justice intended to shield both American and Israeli officials from accountability. The rights group noted that the ICC is currently investigating alleged crimes in 17 different situations around the world including in Afghanistan Ukraine and Venezuela. Philippe Bolopion executive director at Human Rights Watch stated that the Trump administration has made clear its aim to destroy the ICC.
The Nobel committee explicitly linked Pillay’s award to support for international legal institutions under political attack The New York Times reported. Pillay served as a judge on the ICC Appeals Chamber from 2003 to 2008 and previously led the international tribunal for Rwanda according to the prize citation. She later served as the United Nations high commissioner for human rights.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk called for immediate safeguards to protect the ICC following what he termed unacceptable sanctions as covered by the Jerusalem Post. The move has drawn criticism from European allies Japan and other supporters of the court with many expressing concern over the impact on the international legal order. The sanctions come amid the ICC’s high-profile investigations including those related to the conflict in Gaza that prompted arrest warrants for Israeli leaders.
