The United States has issued sanctions to two judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) for what it terms as “illegitimate targeting of Israel”.
In a statement on Thursday, December 18, the State Department sanctioned judges Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia, citing a recent ruling blocking Israel’s effort to halt a Gaza war crimes investigation.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the judges have “directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent”.
Rubio also accused Lordkipanidze and Damdin of “voting with the majority” on December 15, 2025, when the Hague-based court ruled against Israel’s appeal to stop the war crimes probe.
“The ICC has continued to engage in politicized actions targeting Israel, which set a dangerous precedent for all nations,” Rubio stated. “We will not tolerate ICC abuses of power that violate the sovereignty of the United States and Israel and wrongly subject U.S. and Israeli persons to the ICC’s jurisdiction.”
In fact, the U.S says that, together with Israel, they are not part to the Rome Statute — the international treaty that founded the court — and therefore reject the ICC’s jurisdiction.
“Our message to the Court has been clear: the United States and Israel are not party 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.”
The latest sanctions are the latest in a series of economic restriction the administration of President Donald Trump has imposed on ICC members and their associates.
In February 2025, the Trump administration issued sanctions targeting ICC staff, warning of the same treatment to anyone who was assisting the court’s investigations against the U.S and its allies.
In June 2025, four judges — among them two were involved in the decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant– were sanctioned by the U.S.
