The President of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Tomoko Akane, was invited on Wednesday 19 March to speak to MEPs from the European Parliament’s Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI) and Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI). She called on the European Union to protect the institution from the US sanctions recently imposed by Donald Trump.
And for good reason: in an executive order signed on 6 February, the US President banned ICC officials and their families from entering the United States. He also ordered sanctions against the Court’s prosecutor, Karim Khan, and supported other arbitrary appointments (see EUROPE 13575/9).
These measures, denounced as an “existential threat” by Tomoko Akane, are already impinging on the smooth running of the ICC, with “effects that, little by little, could undermine everything we do, like a cancer”.
The chairman of the DROI subcommittee, Mounir Satouri (Greens/EFA, French), pledged the European Parliament’s support: “The European Parliament has repeatedly called on the EU and its Member States to continue to support the ICC”.
Francisco Assis (S&D, Italian) also stressed the urgency: “The very survival of the ICC is at stake”.
One of the levers for action proposed by MEPs is the blocking statute, a legal instrument adopted by the EU in 1996 to counter the extraterritoriality of third country sanctions and violate European sovereignty.
“When does the European Union intend to act and start the procedure to amend the blocking statute? (...) Not using this statute would mean that the European Union is abandoning the Court”, Tomoko Akane pleaded.
Many MEPs supported this approach, including Brando Benifei (S&D, Italian).
Isabel Serra Sánchez (The Left, Spanish) condemned the pressure put on the ICC, saying it was “absurd and unacceptable” that it should be penalised for respecting international law and issuing arrest warrants against Benyamin Netanyahu.
Lynn Boylan (The Left, Irish) stressed that the European Union had to defend international justice or risk losing its credibility.
Dainius Žalimas (Renew Europe, Lithuanian), for his part, called for concrete action beyond the blocking statute.
However, some MEPs further to the right of the Chamber, such as Antonio López-Istúriz White (EPP, Spanish), expressed reservations: “My enthusiasm for this support will depend very much on what you tell me (...). Why have there never been any arrest warrants for dictators such as Maduro or Ortega?”
Małgorzata Gosiewska (ECR, Polish) also criticised the slowness of the ICC’s investigations.
These positions outraged Catarina Vieira MEP (Greens/EFA, Netherlands), who said she was “flabbergasted” by such conditions, especially coming from the largest group in the European Parliament.
Tomoko Akane recalled the independence of the Prosecutor’s work and the limits of the ICC: “If you think we’re not doing enough (...), it’s up to you to do what you can. For example, informing the Court of a problem”.
She also encouraged the promotion of accession by other States to the Rome Statute in order to strengthen the Court. (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)