INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT WINS TOP EU RIGHTS’ PRIZE AMID ‘UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGES’

Thu 22 October 2026:

The awarding of the European Union’s top rights prize to the International Criminal Court (ICC) comes at a time of “unprecedented challenges” for the court, which is facing US sanctions, ICC President Judge Tomoko Akane has said.

The prize reaffirms “the importance of independent judicial institutions and of those who work to uphold international law,” Akane said in a statement.

“In a world marked by rising conflicts, there is no peace without justice and no security without law,” she added.

The announcement was made just days after former ICC judge Navi Pillay was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which was widely seen as a show of support for the embattled court.

In February 2025, US President Trump sanctioned the ICC, accusing it of taking “illegitimate and baseless actions” against the US and Israel, including issuing arrest warrants for Israeli PM Netanyahu for war crimes in Gaza.

In November 2024, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The court alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza linked to Israel’s military campaign after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.

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The ICC also sought warrants for certain Hamas leaders. Neither Israel nor the United States is a party to the Rome Statute that created the ICC, so both reject its jurisdiction over them.

The United States has long opposed the ICC exercising authority over non-members, especially American forces or close allies. Under President Trump, this opposition has intensified. In February 2025 he signed an executive order targeting the court; in early October 2026, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced full institutional sanctions on the ICC itself.

These block U.S. persons and companies from transacting with the court (after a grace period), aiming to cut off its resources. Rubio stated the U.S. and its people are not subject to the ICC and that “either the ICC will end its threats, or we will end the ICC.” Netanyahu publicly welcomed the move.

Israel calls the warrants illegitimate political targeting of a democracy acting in self-defense; the ICC and its supporters treat them as accountability. The warrants remain outstanding and unexecuted. The episode underscores the long-standing U.S.-Israel alliance’s clash with the ICC’s claim of universal reach over non-member states.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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