On Friday (17 July), the International Criminal Court (ICC) marks its 28th anniversary. Even as European governments announce new initiatives to train diplomats and policymakers in accountability and the fight against impunity, the court that was supposed to embody those principles is in the deepest crisis of its existence.
And Europe bears a significant share of the responsibility.
Sanctions and selective outrage
The most visible threat to the ICC comes from the Trump administration’s sanctions against its judges and prosecutors — blocking their access to financial services and cutting them off from essential digital platforms.
These sanctions are legally questionable and deeply damaging to the independence of a court designed to be free of exactly this kind of political pressure.
