International Criminal Court-Related Sanctions Regulations

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY <SUBAGY>Office of Foreign Assets Control</SUBAGY> <CFR>31 CFR Part 528</CFR> <SUBJECT>International Criminal Court-Related Sanctions Regulations</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Office of Foreign Assets Control, Treasury. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Final rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is adding regulations to implement a February 6, 2025 International Criminal Court-related Executive order. The rule also includes information relevant to a May 9, 2025 Executive order relating to requirements for final rules published in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> . OFAC intends to supplement these regulations with a more comprehensive set of regulations, which may include additional interpretive guidance and definitions, general licenses, and other regulatory provisions. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This rule is effective July 1, 2025. </EFFDATE> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> OFAC: Assistant Director for Regulatory Affairs, 202-622-4855; or <E T="03">https://ofac.treasury.gov/contact-ofac.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Electronic Availability</HD> This document and additional information concerning OFAC are available on OFAC's website: <E T="03">https://ofac.treasury.gov.</E> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Background</HD> On February 6, 2025, the President, invoking the authority of, <E T="03">inter alia,</E> the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 <E T="03">et seq.</E> ) (IEEPA), issued Executive Order (E.O.) 14203, “Imposing Sanctions on the International Criminal Court” (90 FR 9369, February 12, 2025). In E.O. 14203, the President found that the International Criminal Court (ICC), as established by the Rome Statute, has engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and Israel, which sets a dangerous precedent, directly endangering current and former United States personnel, including active service members of the Armed Forces, by exposing them to harassment, abuse, and possible arrest. The President therefore determined that any effort by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute protected persons, as defined in section 8(d) of E.O. 14203, constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States and declared a national emergency to deal with that threat. OFAC is issuing the International Criminal Court-Related Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 528 (the “Regulations”), to implement E.O. 14203, pursuant to authorities delegated to the Secretary of the Treasury in E.O. 14203. A copy of E.O. 14203 appears in appendix A to this part. OFAC is incorporating six general licenses (GLs), which were issued pursuant to E.O. 14203 and previously only available on OFAC's website, into the Regulations. ICC-Related GLs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 were issued on OFAC's website on June 5, 2025 and will be removed from the website upon publication of this rule. These GLs are being incorporated into the Regulations as follows: GL 2, authorizing the provision of certain legal services, is being added to the Regulations at § 528.506; GL 3, authorizing payments for legal services from funds originating outside the United States, is being added at § 528.507; GL 4, authorizing emergency medical services, is being added at § 528.508; GL 5, authorizing entries in certain accounts for normal service charges, is being added at § 528.505; GL 6, authorizing transactions related to the provision of agricultural commodities, medicine, medical devices, replacement parts and components, or software updates for personal, non-commercial use, is being added at § 528.510; and GL 7, authorizing official business of the United States government, is being added at § 528.509. The Regulations are being published in abbreviated form at this time for the purpose of providing immediate guidance to the public. OFAC intends to supplement this part 528 with a more comprehensive set of regulations, which may include additional interpretive guidance and definitions, GLs, and other regulatory provisions. The appendix to the Regulations will be removed when OFAC supplements this part with a more comprehensive set of regulations. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Public Participation</HD> Because the Regulations involve a foreign affairs function, the provisions of E.O. 12866 of September 30, 1993, “Regulatory Planning and Review” (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), as amended, and the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) requiring notice of proposed rulemaking, opportunity for public participation, and delay in effective date, as well as the provisions of E.O. 14192 of January 31, 2025, “Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation” (90 FR 9065, February 6, 2025) and E.O. 14219 of February 19, 2025, “Ensuring Lawful Governance and Implementing the President's `Department of Government Efficiency' Deregulatory Initiative” (90 FR 10583, February 25, 2025) are inapplicable. Because no notice of proposed rulemaking is required for this rule, the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612) does not apply. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Executive Order 14294</HD> Section 5 of E.O. 14294 of May 9, 2025, “Fighting Overcriminalization in Federal Regulations” (90 FR 20367, May 14, 2025) directs that all future notices of proposed rulemaking (NPRMs) and final rules published in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> , the violation of which may constitute criminal regulatory offenses, should include a statement identifying that the rule or proposed rule is a criminal regulatory offense and the authorizing statute. E.O. 14294 directs agencies to draft this statement in consultation with the Department of Justice. E.O. 14294 further directs that the regulatory text of all NPRMs and final rules with criminal consequences published in the <E T="04">Federal Register</E> after May 9, 2025 should explicitly state a mens rea requirement for each element of a criminal regulatory offense, accompanied by citations to the relevant provisions of the authorizing statute. Willful violations of the regulations set forth in this final rule may be subject to criminal penalties pursuant to 50 U.S.C. 1705 and regulations promulgated thereunder. The statutory authority for criminal liability requires a mens rea of willfulness as an element pursuant to 50 U.S.C. 1705(c). In drafting this statement, OFAC has consulted with the Department of Justice. <HD SOURCE="HD1">Paperwork Reduction Act</HD> The collections of information related to the Regulations are contained in 31 CFR part 501 (the “Reporting, Procedures and Penalties Regulations”). Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507), those collections of information have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1505-0164. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a valid control number. <LSTSUB> <HD SOURCE="HED">List of Subjects in 31 CFR Part 528</HD> Administrative practice and procedure, Banks, Banking, Blocking of assets, Foreign trade, International Criminal Court, Penalties, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sanctions, Services. </LSTSUB> <REGTEXT TITLE="31" PART="528"> For the reasons set forth in the preamble, OFAC adds part 528 to 31 CFR chapter V to read as follows: <HD SOURCE="HED">PART 528—INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT-RELATED SANCTIONS REGULATIONS</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Subpart A—General Provisions</HD> <CONTENTS> <SECHD>Sec.</SECHD> <SECTNO>528.101</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Relation of this part to other laws and regulations.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.102</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Records and reports.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.103</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Procedures.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.104</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Paperwork Reduction Act notice.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.105</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>[Reserved]</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.106</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Delegation of certain authorities of the Secretary of the Treasury.</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Subpart B—Prohibitions</HD> <SECTNO>528.201</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Prohibited transactions.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.202</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Effect of transfers violating the provisions of this part.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.203</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Holding of funds in interest-bearing accounts; investment and reinvestment. </SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.204</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Expenses of maintaining blocked tangible property; liquidation of blocked property.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.205</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Exempt transactions.</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Subpart C—General Definitions</HD> <SECTNO>528.300</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Applicability of definitions.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.301</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Alien.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.302</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Ally of the United States.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.303</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Blocked account; blocked property.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.304</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Effective date.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.305</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Entity.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.306</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Financial, material, or technological support.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.307</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Foreign person.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.308</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Immediate family member.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.309</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>[Reserved]</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.310</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Interest.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.311</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Licenses; general and specific.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.312</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>OFAC.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.313</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Person.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.314</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Property; property interest.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.315</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Protected person.</SUBJECT> <SECTNO>528.316</SECTNO> <SUBJECT>Tr ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 73k characters. 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