There is something revealing about the way Washington talks about international law. When the law moves against an adversary, it becomes the language of civilisation. When the same law approaches the United States or Israel, it suddenly becomes an assault on sovereignty.

That hypocrisy is no longer subtle. The Trump administration has now launched a campaign to dismantle the International Criminal Court, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing what Washington calls a response to a threat against American sovereignty.

That hypocrisy is no longer subtle. The Trump administration has now launched a campaign to dismantle the International Criminal Court, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio announcing what Washington calls a response to a threat against American sovereignty.

The measures reportedly include travel bans, visa revocations, sanctions and diplomatic pressure on countries that continue to support the court. In plain language, the United States is not merely refusing to cooperate with the ICC. It is trying to punish the court for existing too close to American and Israeli power.

That distinction matters. Disagreement with a legal institution is one thing. A campaign to disable it is another. Washington is not arguing calmly about jurisdiction, procedure or reform. It is using the tools of power — banking restrictions, visa threats, sanctions and pressure on allies — to make international justice more expensive for anyone who tries to apply it without American permission.

This is imperial immunity dressed up as constitutional principle.

The timing is not accidental. The ICC issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant after rejecting Israel’s jurisdictional challenges in the Palestine situation. Since then, Washington’s hostility towards the court has moved from anger to coercion. Judges and officials have been sanctioned, and some ICC judges have sued the Trump administration, arguing that the sanctions were designed to punish and pressure them for carrying out judicial duties.

The message........

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