HR 23 · 119th CongressPassed Chamber

Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act

Latest updateJan 9, 2025

Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 243 - 140, 1 Present (Roll no. 7). (text: CR H67-69)

International Affairs

Sponsor

Chip Roy

Introduced

January 3, 2025

Latest action

January 28, 2025

Legislative Progress

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Introduced

Bill filed in chamber

Committee

Reviewed & reported

Passed Chamber

House or Senate vote

Passed Both

House & Senate agree

President

Sent to White House

Enacted

Signed into law

Latest Action

Cloture on the motion to proceed to the measure not invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 54 - 45. Record Vote Number: 22. (CR S410)

Plain-Language Summary

AI Generated

The United States is not a party to the Rome Statute and does not recognize the International Criminal Court's jurisdiction over American citizens or officials. Since 2002, the American Servicemembers' Protection Act has shielded U.S. military personnel and government officials from ICC prosecution. However, in 2024, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli officials, prompting concerns that the court may expand its reach beyond its intended scope and threaten U.S. interests and those of allied nations that have similarly declined to join the ICC.

The Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act directs the President to impose sanctions on any foreign person or entity that assists the ICC in investigating, arresting, detaining, or prosecuting protected persons—defined as U.S. citizens, officials, military personnel, and citizens or officials of NATO members and major non-NATO allies who have not consented to ICC jurisdiction. Sanctions include freezing assets within U.S. territory or control, rendering individuals inadmissible to the United States, and revoking existing visas. The President must notify Congress within 10 days of imposing sanctions and may waive them for 90-day periods if national security requires it, though such waivers require detailed written justification to Congress.

The bill takes effect immediately upon enactment and rescues all existing appropriations for the ICC while prohibiting future federal funding. The President may terminate sanctions only if the ICC ceases all investigations, arrests, detentions, or prosecutions of protected persons and permanently closes related proceedings. The Department of State and Treasury would implement asset freezes and visa revocations through existing authorities under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Violations carry civil and criminal penalties. The practical effect is to create financial and diplomatic pressure on ICC personnel and supporters while cutting U.S. financial support for the institution.

Key Provisions

1Directs the President to impose sanctions on foreign persons and entities that assist the International Criminal Court in investigating, arresting, detaining, or prosecuting protected U.S. citizens, officials, military personnel, and citizens or officials of NATO and major non-NATO allies.
2Authorizes the President to freeze assets, revoke visas, and render individuals inadmissible to the United States for those subject to sanctions, with immediate effect for visa revocations.
3Requires the President to notify Congress within 10 days of imposing sanctions with detailed descriptions of the targeted foreign person's role and activities.
4Permits the President to waive sanctions for up to 90 days at a time on a case-by-case basis if national security interests require it, contingent on submitting detailed justification to Congress.
5Rescinds all existing appropriations for the International Criminal Court and prohibits any future federal funding for the institution.

★ Why this matters

The bill creates a mechanism to penalize individuals and organizations that support ICC investigations or prosecutions of Americans and allied personnel. It eliminates U.S. financial support for the ICC and empowers the President to freeze assets and deny entry to the United States for ICC staff and supporters. These actions could reduce ICC operational capacity and deter investigations into protected persons, though they may also strain diplomatic relationships with countries that support the court.

● Who this affects

International Criminal Court staff, investigators, and prosecutors face potential asset freezes and visa bans. Foreign nationals employed by or assisting the ICC, as well as their immediate family members, become subject to sanctions. NATO member states and major non-NATO allies—including Israel, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, and South Korea—whose citizens are classified as protected persons gain additional legal protection from ICC jurisdiction. U.S. military personnel, federal officials, and government employees receive expanded protection from international prosecution.

Bill Text

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<DOC>

                                                         Calendar No. 3
119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 23

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 9, 2025

                     Received; read the first time

                            January 13, 2025

            Read the second time and placed on the calendar

                                 AN ACT

 
 To impose sanctions with respect to the International Criminal Court 
engaged in any effort to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute any 
         protected person of the United States and its allies.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Illegitimate Court Counteraction 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States and Israel are not parties to the 
        Rome Statute or members of the International Criminal Court 
        (ICC), and therefore the ICC has no legitimacy or jurisdiction 
        over the United States or Israel.
            (2) On May 20, 2024, the Prosecutor of the International 
        Criminal Court, Karim Khan, announced arrest warrant 
        applications for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and 
        Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant and should be condemned in the 
        strongest possible terms.
            (3) On November 21, 2024, the ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber 
        issued warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and Gallant, which 
        should be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
            (4) The bipartisan American Servicemembers' Protection Act 
        was enacted in 2002 to protect United States military 
        personnel, United States officials, and officials and military 
        personnel of certain allied countries against criminal 
        prosecution by an international criminal court to which the 
        United States is not party, stating, ``In addition to exposing 
        members of the Armed Forces of the United States to the risk of 
        international criminal prosecution, the Rome Statute creates a 
        risk that the President and other senior elected and appointed 
        officials of the United States Government may be prosecuted by 
        the International Criminal Court.''.
            (5) The ICC's actions against Israel, including the 
        preliminary examination and investigation of Israel and 
        issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli officials, are 
        illegitimate and baseless and create a damaging precedent that 
        threatens the United States, Israel, and all United States 
        partners who have not consented to the ICC's jurisdiction.
            (6) The United States must oppose any action by the ICC 
        against the United States, Israel, or any other ally of the 
        United …

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D-North Carolina · District 12

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Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act

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