On July 1, 2025, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) published the International Criminal Court-Related Sanctions Regulations to implement Executive Order (“EO”) 14203, “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court”, issued on February 6, 2025. EO 14023 authorized sanctions on foreign persons engaged in certain efforts by the International Criminal Court (“ICC”) to target the United States and Israel.
EO 14023
In EO 14203, President Trump finds that the ICC has engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting the United States and Israel, exposing current and former US personnel to harassment, abuse, and possible arrest. President Trump therefore determined that any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute “protected persons”, which is defined to include both US Persons and citizens or lawful residents of US allies, constitutes “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States”, and declared a national emergency to deal with that threat.
EO 14203 was issued pursuant to the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”). Specifically, the EO blocks property and interests in property of (i) the ICC Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan; and (ii) individuals determined to have directly engaged with the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute a “protected person”, which is defined to include both US Persons and citizens or lawful residents of US allies, without the consent of that person’s country or nationality.
Persons blocked pursuant to the EO will be added to OFAC’s List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (“SDN List”). US Persons are generally prohibited from dealing directly or indirectly with SDNs, entities that are owned 50% or more by one or more SDNs, and their property or property interests. Non-US persons can be held liable for “causing” violations by US Persons involving transactions with SDNs and can also be subject to secondary sanctions risks (which would include, in particular, the risk of designation as an SDN themselves) for providing “material support” to SDNs. To date, five individuals have been designated as SDNs under the authority of EO 14023.
The International Criminal Court-Related Sanctions Regulations
OFAC has now issued the International Criminal Court-Related Sanctions Regulations under 31 C.F.R. Part 528 (the “Regulations”) to implement EO 14203. Notably:
- Under Section 528.201 of the Regulations, all transactions prohibited pursuant to EO 14203 and any further EOs issued pursuant to the national emergency declared in EO 14023 are prohibited.
- 6 general licenses (“GLs”) issued pursuant to EO 14023 that were previously available on OFAC’s website have been incorporated into the Regulations, as follows:
- ICC-Related GL 2, which authorizes the provision of certain legal services, has been added to Section 528.506 of the Regulations;
- ICC-Related GL 3, which authorizes payments for legal services from funds originating outside the United States, has been added to Section 528.507 of the Regulations;
- ICC-Related GL 4, which authorizes emergency medical services, has been added to Section 528.508 of the Regulations;
- ICC-Related GL 5, which authorizes entries in certain accounts for normal service charges, has been added to Section 528.505 of the Regulations;
- ICC-Related GL 6, which authorizes transactions related to the provision of agricultural commodities, medicine, medical devices, replacement parts and components, or software updates for personal, non-commercial use, has been added to Section 528.510 of the Regulations; and
- ICC-Related GL 7, which authorizes official business of the United States government, has been added to Section 528.509 of the Regulations.
OFAC intends to supplement these Regulations with a more comprehensive set of regulations, which may include additional interpretive guidance and definitions, general licenses, and other regulatory provisions. The current Regulations are being published in abbreviated form for the purpose of providing immediate guidance to the public.