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International Criminal Court (ICC)
Since 2002 (Rome Statute 1998)· Alliance or organization
FactTreaties, membership, measured data, events.
A permanent court in The Hague that tries individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression.
See it on the Geopolitics map →The picture
Created by the 1998 Rome Statute, it opened on July 1, 2002. It has about 125 member states, though Hungary and three Sahel juntas announced withdrawals in 2025. It acts only when national courts will not or cannot, and has no police: members must make arrests. The US, China, Russia, India and Israel are not members. It has warrants out for Vladimir Putin and Benjamin Netanyahu; the Philippines arrested ex-president Rodrigo Duterte for it in March 2025. The US sanctioned its officials in 2025.
Why it matters
It is the first permanent court able to charge even sitting leaders, but the most powerful states reject it, so its reach depends on politics.
Key facts and numbers
The Rome Statute, the court's public warrants and case records, the Duterte proceedings, and the US executive order of February 2025 authorizing sanctions on its staff.
What to watch
Disputed: supporters call it vital; critics, including the US, Russia and Israel, call it politicized. Members failed to arrest Putin in Mongolia (2024) and Netanyahu in Hungary (2025).
Connections (3)
▸International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Benjamin NetanyahuFact
The relationship
ICC judges issued warrants for Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, finding reasonable grounds to believe they bear responsibility for war crimes in Gaza, including starvation as a method of warfare, and crimes against humanity. Israel, not an ICC member, rejects the court's jurisdiction and denies the charges; the court cites Palestine's 2015 accession.
Since when and why
Pre-Trial Chamber I, The Hague, November 21, 2024, alongside a warrant for Hamas commander Mohammed Deif; Israel's legal challenges to jurisdiction continued into 2026.
How we know
The court's public announcement; the warrants themselves are classified. Statements by Israel, the US and ICC member states record their responses.
What to watch
Disputed: Israel calls the warrants antisemitic and baseless, and the US calls the court illegitimate; supporters call it equal justice. Hungary hosted him in 2025 without arresting him.
▸International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir PutinFact
The relationship
ICC judges issued a warrant for Putin and Russia's children's-rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, alleging the unlawful deportation and transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia, a war crime. Russia is not a member and calls the warrant void; Ukraine had accepted the court's jurisdiction. The warrant limits Putin's travel to member states.
Since when and why
The Hague, March 17, 2023; Ukraine says about 19,500 children were taken. Putin skipped the 2023 BRICS summit in South Africa, a member, but visited Mongolia, another, in 2024.
How we know
The ICC's public statement on the warrants, Ukrainian and UN reports on deported children, and Russian officials' own statements about 'evacuating' them.
What to watch
Whether the warrant could survive a peace deal, and whether any member would arrest a sitting head of state, given Mongolia's failure to act in 2024.
▸United States sanctioned judges of International Criminal Court (ICC)Fact
The relationship
Trump's February 2025 executive order authorized sanctions on ICC officials after the court issued arrest warrants for Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant. The US then sanctioned the prosecutor, deputy prosecutors and several judges, freezing US assets and barring travel.
Since when and why
Washington, from February 6, 2025; judges were designated in June and August 2025. Neither the US nor Israel is an ICC member.
How we know
Treasury sanctions lists, the executive order, ICC statements condemning the measures, and objections from many member states.
What to watch
Supporters say the ICC lacks jurisdiction over non-members; critics say sanctions undermine international justice. How far banks and tech firms cut off the court is unclear.