Global coalition of lawyers launches campaign to defend the International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court
Middle East Eye reports on 15 July 2026:
A group of lawyers and legal organisations have launched an initiative to “defend” the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the wake of threats from the US administration to dismantle the court.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Trump administration was working to “dismantle the [International Criminal Court] brick by brick”, throwing down a public gauntlet to the court that issued an arrest warrant in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Using all the tools at our government’s disposal, working beside every ally with whom we can make common cause, we will dismantle the ICC – brick by brick, if necessary,” he said.
The Second International Legal Conference, held under the theme “Crimes of the Israeli Occupation in Palestine: Between Legal Accountability and Achieving Justice”, concluded in Istanbul earlier this week with a call to defend the ICC.
Bringing together a multinational grouping of judges, lawyers, academics, international law experts, and legal and human rights organisations, the conference launched the “International Initiative to Defend the International Criminal Court and Its Judges”.
“The participants emphasized that international justice must remain independent of political interests and power politics, warning that continued impunity undermines the credibility of the international legal order and encourages further violations of international law,” they said in a statement.
It called upon bar associations, universities, legal professionals, academic institutions, and civil society organisations worldwide to join the Istanbul Declaration and the International Initiative to Defend the International Criminal Court.
The initiative aims “to unite their efforts in defending the rights of the Palestinian people, protecting the independence of international justice, and ensuring accountability for serious violations of international law without selectivity or double standards.”