House Advances Bill on Sanctioning World Court

(Getty Images)

The House advanced legislation Monday to sanction the International Criminal Court (ICC) after its pursuit of arrest warrants alleging war crimes against Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant in the Jewish state’s military operation against Iranian-backed Hamas terrorists.

By a 9-3 vote along party lines, the Rules Committee advanced the Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act, sponsored by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, to the House floor for a vote, which is expected to take place this week.

The bill would reinstall sanctions similar to those placed by the Trump administration in 2020 on ICC officials, employees, and associates who engaged in efforts to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute U.S. citizens or allies – including Israel – that are not part of the ICC or have not granted the ICC jurisdiction. President Joe Biden revoked those sanctions when he came into office.

“When the ICC takes this kind of a step, which has been condemned pretty roundly by both sides of the aisle, executive branch and legislative, that is deserving of significant rebuke,” Roy said during the Rules Committee hearing. “Without something with teeth, you’re not going to limit the extent to which the ICC feels empowered and committed to engage in this sort of activity in the future, including directed toward our own service members or our own Americans engaged in this kind of activity.

“Stopping this before it moves very far down the track is critically important because of the unbelievably egregious nature of the ICC announcing the intent to issue warrants against the prime minister of Israel and the defense minister of Israel, and that merits the strongest possible rebuke by the United States.”

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., introduced similar legislation in the Senate in February 2023, but despite outrage from congressional Democrats when the warrants were issued in May, the legislation is not expected to see the light of day in the Democrat-run upper chamber.

That’s because the Biden administration, which initially called the arrest warrants “outrageous,” issued a statement of administrative policy Monday denouncing the House bill.

“The Administration strongly opposes H.R. 8282, the ‘Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act,’” the statement read. “H.R. 8282 would impose mandatory sanctions and visa restrictions on any foreign person determined to aid, materially assist, or provide financial support for efforts by the International Criminal Court to undertake certain investigations and prosecutions, among others.

“This legislation could require sanctions against court staff, judges, witnesses, and U.S. allies and partners who provide even limited, targeted support to the court in a range of aspects of its work. The Administration is deeply concerned about the ICC Prosecutor’s heedless rush to apply for arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials. At the same time, the Administration opposes the imposition of sanctions against the ICC, its personnel, its judges, or those who assist [in] its work. There are more effective ways to defend Israel, preserve U.S. positions on the ICC, and promote international justice and accountability, and the Administration stands ready to work with the Congress on those options.”

In addition to Netanyahu and Gallant, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, Hamas’ military commander, and Ismail Haniyeh, head of Hamas’ political wing who is based in Qatar.