It was a consequential case of deja-vu in The Hague on Thursday, as the US issued fresh sanctions against judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) over what it calls "illegitimate actions targeting the United States and Israel."

The move is the latest in a series of diplomatic assaults on the ICC ostensibly aimed at curtailing the court's credibility and ability to function. The ICC has criticized the measure as "a clear attempt to undermine the indepedence of an international judicial institution."

While the European Union (EU) has long defended the court as the "cornerstone of international justice," its member states' mixed response to ICC rulings in recent months has exposed cracks in the world's main mechanism for international criminal justice, and its capacity to act.

Now calls for the bloc to use legal powers to counter US sanctions are mounting.

The new measures target four ICC judges. Two were involved in proceeding that led to an ICC arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, among others, over alleged crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. Israel denies the allegations. The other two blacklisted judges were part of proceedings that authorized probes into alleged war crimes committed by US armed forces in Afghanistan.

During Republican President Donald Trump's first term, the US had already targeted Khan's predecessor over........

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