US President Joe Biden’s election victory has raised the prospect of increased United States support and engagement with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
Many observers cited Biden’s emphasis on multilateralism and his support for the international tribunal as ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations as positive signs.
But the Biden administration has not revoked former President Donald Trump’s September 2020 executive order that imposed sanctions on ICC personnel, including prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, raising fresh questions about what policy Biden plans to pursue.
“I think there was an expectation that [the lifting of sanctions] would be automatic, and not only would the removal of the existing sanctions be fait accompli, but the actual executive order would be rescinded,” said William Schabas, a professor of international law at Middlesex University in London.