Donald Trump’s administration has imposed sanctions on two additional International Criminal Court (ICC) judges for their role in proceedings related to Israel, including Georgian judge Gocha Lortkipanidze.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the judges, Lortkipanidze and Mongolia’s Erdenebalsuren Damdin, were involved in efforts to investigate and prosecute Israeli nationals without Israel’s consent. He cited a December ruling in which the ICC rejected an Israeli appeal to halt its Gaza-related investigation.
The sanctions prevent the judges from travelling to the U.S. or holding assets there, while making routine financial transactions difficult.
The ICC condemned the measures as an attack on judicial independence, warning that targeting judges for applying international law undermines the rule of law itself.
The latest step follows earlier U.S. sanctions on nine ICC officials after the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders over alleged war crimes. Lortkipanidze, the first Georgian to serve as an ICC judge, has been on the court since 2021.
While its campaign against Israel after the Hamas-led October 7th pogrom seems especially egregious, other ICC activities stand accused of mission creep—not least into the sovereignty of individual nations.
