The press release is a short press statement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio dated December 18, 2025. It announces that he is designating two International Criminal Court (ICC) judges under Executive Order 14203, “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court,” because they are said to have “directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent,” including by voting with the majority against Israel’s appeal on December 15. The statement says the ICC has continued “politicized actions targeting Israel” that set “a dangerous precedent,” asserts that the United States and Israel are not parties to the Rome Statute and reject ICC jurisdiction, and warns that the U.S. will continue to impose “significant and tangible consequences” in response to what it calls the ICC’s “lawfare and overreach.” It concludes that all targets are designated under section 1(a)(ii)(A) of Executive Order 14203.
Yes. The statement names two ICC judges as targets of the sanctions: Gocha Lordkipanidze of Georgia and Erdenebalsuren Damdin of Mongolia.
The press release itself only says that Rubio is “designating” the two judges under Executive Order 14203 and that all targets are designated under section 1(a)(ii)(A); it does not list the sanctions item by item. Under Executive Order 14203, such a designation means: (1) all property and interests in property of the designees that are in the United States or under control of U.S. persons are blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them; and (2) their entry into the United States (and, in some cases, that of their immediate family members) can be suspended, along with related financial and services restrictions. These are the sanctions that legally apply when someone is designated under that order, even though the press statement summarizes them only by citing the order and section 1(a)(ii)(A).
The statement cites Executive Order (E.O.) 14203, “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court,” as its legal authority and specifies that all targets are designated under section 1(a)(ii)(A) of that order. Executive Order 14203 itself is issued under U.S. statutes including the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the National Emergencies Act, section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and 3 U.S.C. § 301, and declares a national emergency over ICC efforts to investigate or prosecute U.S. and certain allied personnel (including Israelis) without their states’ consent.
The phrase “illegitimate targeting of Israel” appears only in the title and is not formally defined in the body of the press release. From the context, the State Department uses it to describe ICC actions it calls “politicized” and “abuses of power”: specifically, efforts “to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent,” including the judges’ vote against Israel’s appeal, and more broadly ICC assertions of jurisdiction over Israel even though Israel is not a party to the Rome Statute. Executive Order 14203 uses similar language, accusing the ICC of “illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel,” but does not provide a technical definition either.
The statement is issued as a “Press Statement” by Marco Rubio in his capacity as U.S. Secretary of State, under the U.S. Department of State. The (now-erroring) State.gov URL also sits in the Department’s Office of the Spokesperson release directory, indicating it was published through that office.
Yes. Although the original State.gov page is currently returning an error, the full text of the press release is available in several mirrors and archives, including: (1) a verbatim copy on GlobalSecurity.org; and (2) a PDF of the original State Department document hosted in the ICC Legal Tools Database, which was downloaded from State.gov when the page was accessible.