ICC prosecutor urges EU blocking statute

Former International Criminal Court prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo said on May 24 the European Union should use its blocking statute to protect ICC judges and prosecutors from U.S. sanctions, adding to pressure on Brussels as Washington’s measures against the court widen. The call came as Hungary said it would remain in the ICC and as officials in the Philippines said future ICC arrest warrants would be enforced immediately. The dispute has put the court at the center of separate fights involving U.S. sanctions policy, European legal coordination and domestic enforcement decisions in member and non-member states. The United States imposed the sanctions under Executive Order 14203, signed on February 6, 2025, saying the ICC had taken “illegitimate and baseless actions” against the United States and Israel. ### What is the EU measure Ocampo wants Brussels to use? The European Commission says the blocking statute is designed to protect EU operators from the extraterritorial application of third-country laws and to nullify in the EU the effect of certain foreign court rulings based on those laws. The regulation also prohibits EU operators from complying with listed foreign measures unless the Commission authorizes an exception. (federalregister.gov) The Commission says the statute’s annex currently covers U.S. measures concerning Cuba and Iran. Extending it to ICC-related U.S. sanctions would therefore require an EU decision to bring those sanctions within the regulation’s scope. ### Why are ICC officials seeking that protection now? Judge Tomoko Akane, the ICC’s president, told European lawmakers in Brussels on March 19, 2025 that the court needed immediate EU action, including a swift amendment of the blocking statute to bring the ICC within its scope. (finance.ec.europa.eu) In a court statement, the ICC said Akane warned that failing to use the statute would amount to abandoning the court and its principles. The European Parliament said on March 12, 2025 that it was deeply concerned by U.S. sanctions against the ICC, its prosecutors, judges and staff, and called on the Commission to urgently activate the blocking statute. That demand has since been echoed by court officials and legal advocates arguing that EU-based institutions and service providers need legal cover to continue dealing with sanctioned ICC personnel. (icc-cpi.int) ### What has Washington said about the sanctions? President Donald Trump’s executive order of February 6, 2025 said the ICC had asserted jurisdiction over U.S. and allied personnel without consent and cited the court’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The order said the United States “unequivocally opposes” ICC actions against the United States, Israel or other U.S. allies that have not accepted the court’s jurisdiction. (icc-cpi.int) The U.S. State Department’s sanctions page lists actions taken on June 5, July 9, August 20 and December 18, 2025, including sanctions on ICC judges and other foreign nationals tied to what Washington called the court’s targeting of Americans and Israelis. ### How did Hungary shift its position on the court? Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on May 23 that his government was withdrawing Hungary’s intention to leave the ICC. (federalregister.gov) The Jerusalem Post reported that Magyar had also said a month earlier that if Hungary remained an ICC member and a person wanted by the court entered its territory, that person “must be taken into custody.” The same report said warrants issued in 2024 for Netanyahu and Gallant remained in force. (state.gov) Hungary had previously announced plans to quit the court under former prime minister Viktor Orban, who had called the ICC political. ### Why is the Philippines part of the same debate? Claire Castro, the Philippine presidential palace press officer, said on May 24 that future ICC warrants against other alleged co-perpetrators in the Rodrigo Duterte case would be enforced “immediately” by law enforcement agencies. (jpost.com) Castro said such warrants did not need to go through local courts and pointed to Republic Act No. 9851 as the legal basis for cooperation with international tribunals. Philstar reported on May 25 that police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. told Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa to respect the law as he faced an outstanding ICC warrant. The comments came after Philippine authorities publicly hardened their position on executing ICC process. March 12, 2025 is the date of the European Parliament resolution urging activation of the blocking statute, and March 19, 2025 is the date Judge Akane pressed the case in Brussels. (globalnation.inquirer.net) Any next formal step on the EU side would have to come from the European Commission and member states through the regulation’s annex or related implementing action. (icc-cpi.int) (qa.philstar.com)