On October 9, 2026, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC“) added the entire International Criminal Court (“ICC“) to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (“SDN List“) pursuant to Executive Order 14203 (“EO 14203“) and issued four general licenses authorizing specified transactions involving the court.
Designation of the ICC Under EO 14203
OFAC has designated the ICC under section 1(a)(ii)(A) of EO 14203. The ICC designation follows OFAC’s prior designation of 17 individuals associated with the ICC (including ICC judges) under that authority. OFAC’s notice of the designation and the US Department of State’s fact sheet are available here and here, respectively, and note the basis of the action being “to defend US sovereignty and neutralize the threat posed by the ICC.” As we previously reported, OFAC implemented EO 14203 through the International Criminal Court-Related Sanctions Regulations (“ICCSR“) in July 2025.
As a result of the designation, and subject to applicable licenses and exemptions, all property and interests in property of the ICC that are in the United States or in the possession or control of US persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. Transactions by US persons, or within or transiting the United States, that involve the ICC’s property or interests in property are generally prohibited, including making or receiving any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of the ICC.
ICC-Related General Licenses 13 Through 16
OFAC issued the following four general licenses concurrently with the designation:
- General License 13 (“GL 13“) provides a 180-day wind-down authorization for all transactions prohibited by the ICCSR that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the maintenance or wind down of operations, contracts, or other agreements involving the ICC through 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 7, 2027. The State Department describes GL 13 as intended to give States Parties to the Rome Statute (i.e., the international treaty that founded the ICC) time to demonstrate progress on resolutions that address US concerns, and states that it “can be adjusted in response to the success or failure of such efforts.”
- General License 14 (“GL 14“) addresses the provision of telecommunications, certain software and IT services to the ICC. Specifically, it authorizes all transactions prohibited by the ICCSR that are ordinarily incident and necessary to (A) the receipt or transmission of telecommunications involving the ICC and (B) the provision, acquisition, development, implementation, operation, maintenance, or repair of enterprise software involving the ICC. GL 14 also authorizes the provision of services to the ICC that are incident to the exchange of communications over the internet. GL 14 does not relieve any person from export, reexport, or transfer licensing requirements maintained by the Bureau of Industry and Security.
- General License 15 (“GL 15“) authorizes all transactions prohibited by the ICCSR that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the processing of pension payments involving the ICC, provided that any payment to a blocked person is made into a blocked interest-bearing account located in the United States.
- General License 16 (“GL 16“) authorizes all transactions prohibited by the ICCSR involving the ICC that are ordinarily incident and necessary to the continued detention of nine individuals listed in its Annex, including services for their health, safety, and welfare and for the operation of the detention facilities.
Each of the four general licenses permits the ICC’s blocked accounts to be used, debited, or credited for the authorized transactions. None of them authorizes transactions involving any other person blocked under the ICCSR, such as previously designated ICC officials, unless separately authorized.
EU Statement on the ICC Designation
On October 10, 2026, the EU High Representative issued a statement on behalf of the EU that “deeply regrets” the US decision to sanction the ICC as an institution and urges the United States to reverse the measures. The statement welcomes US readiness to discuss its concerns with the States Parties to the Rome Statute and takes note of “the US decision to delay the entry into force of its latest measures,” which appears to reference the 180-day authorization in GL 13 discussed above. The statement adds that the EU “stands ready to take all the necessary measures to ensure that the Court continues to operate effectively,” but does not identify any specific measure. The European Commission also issued a separate statement on the US action. Companies subject to both US and EU jurisdiction should monitor for any EU-level measures that may be adopted in response.
We will continue to monitor and update on any further developments in US sanctions and EU responses relating to the ICC.
The authors acknowledge the assistance of Alexander Cleveland with the preparation of this blog post.
