sanctions Tag

[Thea Coventry is a PhD candidate in international law and adjunct lecturer at Leiden University, specialising in maritime security, transnational criminal law and state jurisdiction.] Since 2025, the number of stateless and falsely flagged vessels transporting sanctioned Russian oil through the North and Baltic Seas has almost quadrupled. In June 2025, in response to this development, the Nordic-Baltic 8++ States announced...

[Brianne McGonigle Leyh is Professor of Global Justice Studies at Utrecht University’s School of Law and leads the university's Global Justice Investigations Lab. She co-directs the Netherlands Institute of Human Rights (SIM), is a member of the Montaigne Center for Rule of Law and Administration of Justice, and is a Senior Peace Fellow with the Public International Law & Policy...

[Eirini Koutsoukou is a legal researcher with a PhD in International Law, Ethics & Economics for Sustainable Development from the University of Milan.] Introduction Individuals entrusted with investigating and adjudicating alleged violations of international law are increasingly being targeted by US sanctions. Under Executive Order 14203, the Trump administration has sanctioned UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese and half of the International Criminal...

[Gayane Khechoomian is a former Visiting Professional at the International Criminal Court in The Hague and an attorney admitted to practice in California and Illinois.] Introduction Last year, President Trump issued Executive Order (EO) 14203, “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court” (ICC), relaunching a sanctions regime with the stated purpose of protecting Americans and U.S. allies from certain exercises of its...

[Jens Iverson is an assistant professor of international law at Leiden University.] In November 2025, I wrote on this site about The Power and Responsibility of the EU to Protect the ICC from US Sanctions. There I discussed issues such as the use of the Anti-Coercion Instrument, (AKA “the Big Bazooka”), the Extraterritoriality (Blocking) Statute and the European Commission supported Digital Commons European Digital Infrastructure Consortium...

[Zahra Jafarbeklou is a researcher in international law based in Iran and an LL.M. candidate at the Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University] Introduction: The Paradox of “Permitted” Isolation The late 2025 snapback mechanism triggered the digital siege stifling Iran’s academic community. On paper, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has issued General License D-2...

[Emre Acar is a PhD Candidate at Leiden University’s Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies of Leiden Law School] In recent years, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has faced a growing number of diverse and aggressive political attacks from both Non-States Parties and States Parties. As external threats, the Trump Administration has imposed unilateral sanctions on the Court’s officials (on 6 February, 5 June, 20 August and 18...

[Dr Sergey Sayapin is Professor of Law at KIMEP University (Almaty, Kazakhstan) and Distinguished Visiting Global Scholar at the NUS Centre for International Law (2025)] International law was largely designed for a world in which harm could be identified, responsibility attributed, and violations remedied. Its core concepts – breach, obligation, responsibility, reparation – presuppose a legal universe structured around discrete acts, identifiable actors, and...

[Dr. Cyril Laucci is Lead Counsel for the Defense at the International Criminal Court] For the ICC, 2025 will have been the year of US sanctions. These sanctions took shape as early as February 6 with the signing of Executive Order 14203, “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court”. This order placed Prosecutor Karim Khan at the top of a list...

[Hryhorii Turshukov is a research associate and teaching assistant at the Institute for European Law and the Leuven Institute of Criminology (LINC) at KU Leuven, Belgium] In light of ongoing efforts to revive full-fledged peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, the question of sanctions inevitably arises. Although sanctions will likely be considered within the broader framework of peace talks, it remains...

[Jens Iverson is an assistant professor of international law at Leiden University]  The Trump Administration has sanctioned ICC high officials, UN officials, and human rights groups. There is concern this is not the end of the US bullying — without pushback, further sanctions against individuals, organizations, and the ICC itself may continue throughout President Trump’s term and beyond.  States Parties face a...

[Anna Kiefer is Advocacy and Litigation Officer at Sherpa. Cannelle Lavite is Co-Director, Business and Human Rights at ECCHR. Claire Tixeire is Co-Director, Institute for Legal Intervention at ECCHR.] Starting 4 November 2025, and continuing for six weeks, a criminal court in Paris will examine whether the multinational company Lafarge and several of its former top executives should be found guilty of financing...