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.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseRead the second time and placed on the calendar
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Received; read the first time
Mr. Roy (for himself, Mr. Mast, Mr. McCaul, Mr. Crenshaw, …
On Cloture on the Motion to Proceed H.R. 23
Motion to Invoke Cloture: Motion to Proceed to H.R. 23
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill, called the "Illegitimate Court Counteraction Act," imposes sanctions on individuals associated with the International Criminal Court (ICC) who attempt to investigate, arrest, or prosecute U.S. citizens, military personnel, government officials, or those of allied nations like Israel and NATO members. The bill responds specifically to the ICC's 2024 arrest warrant applications against Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Gallant, which Congress views as illegitimate since neither the U.S. nor Israel are parties to the Rome Statute that established the ICC.
Who Benefits and How
U.S. military personnel, government officials, and their counterparts in allied countries benefit from legal protection against ICC prosecution. Israeli government and military officials specifically benefit, as the bill explicitly condemns the ICC's actions against Israeli leaders. The U.S. government gains leverage to shield American citizens and allies from international criminal proceedings they consider illegitimate.
Who Bears the Burden and How
International Criminal Court officials and staff face severe consequences: asset freezes, travel bans to the U.S., and visa revocations if they participate in investigations of protected persons. The sanctions extend to their immediate family members (spouses, parents, siblings, adult children), who become inadmissible to the U.S. Organizations that provide material support, financing, or technological assistance to ICC investigations also face sanctions. The ICC itself loses all U.S. funding, with existing appropriations rescinded and future funding prohibited.
Key Provisions
- Mandates the President to impose sanctions within 60 days on any foreign person who aids ICC investigations of protected U.S. or allied persons
- Freezes assets and blocks all property transactions for sanctioned individuals within U.S. jurisdiction
- Bars sanctioned individuals and their immediate family members from entering the United States
- Rescinds all existing U.S. appropriations for the ICC and prohibits any future funding
- Defines "protected persons" broadly to include current and former U.S. military members, government officials, and citizens of NATO allies and major non-NATO allies who have not consented to ICC jurisdiction
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
The bill aims to impose sanctions on individuals associated with the International Criminal Court (ICC) who are involved in investigating, arresting, detaining, or prosecuting protected persons of the United States and its allies.
Policy Domains
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
An individual who is a US citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence, along with entities organized under US laws.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology