WHO’S IN CHARGE 18 JUDGES
Elected by the Assembly of States Parties to nine-year, nonrenewable terms. Judges serve in the Pre-Trial, Trial and Appeals divisions.
WHO OVERSEES IT? KAUKORANTA AKANE
sia, and India have not. The court has no police force of
its own. To execute its warrants, it relies on member states — meaning an arrest depends entirely on where the target sets foot. But a new provision has put the
U.S. and the court on a collision course. It asserts jurisdiction not only over citizens of its member states, but also over any crime committed on a member state’s territory — regardless of whether the accused’s nation ever signed the treaty. An American soldier who commits
an alleged off ense in a signatory coun- try is, under the court’s reading of the Rome Statute, subject to ICC prosecu- tion without U.S. consent. President Bill Clinton signed the
The Assembly of States Parties is the ICC’s management oversight and legislative body. It approves the budget and elects judges and the prosecutor. Its current president is Päivi Kaukoranta of Finland.
ICC PRESIDENT
Judge Tomoko Akane of Japan: The Presidency oversees the court’s administration while preserving the independence of its judicial work.
PROSECUTOR
The position is currently vacant. Karim Khan was removed from of ice by the Assembly of States Parties on July 24, 2026. Deputy Prosecutors Nazhat Shameem Khan and Mame Mandiaye Niang are jointly leading the Of ice of the Prosecutor.
Rome Statute on Dec. 31, 2000 — the last day the treaty was open for signature — but never sent it to the Senate. His reservations focused on the very jurisdictional
reach the current administration is now fi ghting: the court’s assertion of authority over citizens of nations that never agreed to its terms. George W. Bush withdrew the U.S. signature entirely
in May 2002 — a nearly unprecedented diplomatic move. That August, he signed the American Service-Members’ Protection Act into law. The law, quickly dubbed the Hague Invasion Act by
critics, prohibits U.S. cooperation with the ICC, restricts military assistance to member states that do not exempt Americans from the court’s jurisdiction, and authorizes the president to use all means necessary — including military force — to secure the release of any American citizen or U.S. ally held by the tribunal. The constitutional objections have been consistent
across four administrations. But Americans tried before the ICC would be denied a
jury trial and the due process protections guaranteed by the U.S. Bill of Rights. Investigation, prosecution, adjudication, and appeal
would all run through a single institution answerable to no American voter and subject to no American court. “As Americans, we wholeheartedly reject the notion that
KHAN NIANG
a supranational entity, especially one formed by a statute that was never ratifi ed by our country, has legitimate jurisdiction over our citizens and our leaders,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote in a July 24 op-ed. “The U.S. Constitution is our law and guide and none other.”
WAR CRIMES In November 2024, the ICC sparked a fi restorm by accusing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and for- mer Defense Minister Yoav Gallant of war crimes and crimes against human- ity in Gaza and by issuing warrants binding on all 124 member states. Any signatory nation was legally
obligated to detain Netanyahu if he entered its territory.
When Netanyahu visited the United States this summer,
Trump made the situation clear. “Benjamin Netanyahu will not be arrested, in any way,
shape, or form, while in the United States of America,” he said. Michael Savage, a conservative radio host, told Newsmax
that the warrants confi rmed what critics had long suspected about the court’s direction. “The ICC is basically a kangaroo court of Islamists who
have taken it over to attack Jews and Israel,” he said. “If the court is so concerned about upholding the rule of
law and order, why are there no investigations into Cuba and other communist nations at this time?” he asked. On Feb. 7, 2025, Trump signed Executive Order 14203,
declaring a national emergency and imposing sanctions on Karim Khan, then the ICC’s chief prosecutor. Khan himself did not survive the turbulence. In July 2026,
member states voted to remove him from offi ce following a sexual misconduct investigation — making him the fi rst ICC prosecutor ever dismissed by the body that elected him. A White House offi cial, who requested anonymity, told Newsmax that the pressure campaign is far from fi nished. “This is only the beginning,” the offi cial said. “Presi-
dent Trump has made clear that he will not tolerate any assaults on American sovereignty. But in many ways, the ICC, through its own actions, has already done much of the work to render itself largely irrelevant.”
OCTOBER 2026 | NEWSMAX 13
KHAN/SERGII KHARCHENKO/NURPHOTO VIA GETTY IMAGES
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108
