The European Parliament has awarded the 2026 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought to The International Criminal Court (ICC) and its officials. Established in 1988, the Sakharov Prize honours those standing up for human rights, freedom of expression, minority rights, international law, democracy and the rule of law. The ICC joins a long list of organisations and people whose work highlights the importance of protecting these rights around the world. 'The European Union is built on respect for multilateralism and international institutions. With the award of the Sakharov Prize to the International Criminal Court and its officials, the European Parliament recognises the Court’s important work in upholding international law and justice.' said President Roberta Metsola when announcing this year's laureate. The award ceremony will take place in December in Strasbourg. Learn more about the 2026 Sakharov Prize laureate: https://lnkd.in/ewmBhHbH
We want to join European Parliament, and Ursula von der Leyen, and extend our warm congratulations to the ICC. Winning the Sakharov Prize honours its irreplaceable mission of defending human rights and the rule of law worldwide.
That's interesting,but we want to see their scorecard for the last 15 years.No sane person believes in ICC after countless pleas for action only to be told probe's ongoing.We need a New international Court,free of politics, neocolonialism and imperial hedonism.A court that guarantees a rules-based order and sovereign Rights to all regardless of where they are on Earth.A court independent of it's mandate and not an appendage of elites and first world economies,with equal representation derived from all continents.Not people from the western hemisphere standing on a high moral ground and dictating to others what jurisprudence is applicable while turning blind and deaf when it's the west transgressing.Otherwise ICC remains a shadow of it's intended mandate caught up with fleeting illusion of relevance
You should remove Sakharov's name from this prize. He would have completely disagreed with choice of winners of this prize.
They are the last bunch who deserve a freedom of thought award. They are ideologically driven , biase, accountable to no government and interpret the law at their own whim. Most of the judges are from legal jurisdictions who have profound human rights violations.
Like the Nobel Peace Prize, support for the principle of rule of law in nternational affairs.
Its great, but creating alternatives payment options to Visa and Master Card woud be a much stronger sign
JUST AS GOOD AS ARAFAT GETTING PEACE PRIZE
A most welcome and important recognition to the International Criminal Court by the European Parliament and president Roberta Metsola. Although the Court's sanctions are the recent news, one cannot forget that there are nine individual judges facing personal sanctions for exercising their judicial functions. For those judges, acting in accordance with their legal reasoning is the most courageous and honest exercise of freedom of thought that, to me, should be the spirit of the Sakharov Prize. And, of course, lawyers are there too, affected by Executive orders and broader chilling effects, at the ICC and elsewhere, for the same reasons. The freedom and duties of Judges and legal professionals come at a very high personal cost. Defending them is also defending the independence of international justice. And defending Justice and the Rule of Law means also upholding the separation of powers as in Montesquieu's "L'esprit des lois": «C'est une expérience éternelle que tout homme qui a du pouvoir est porté à en abuser ; il va jusqu’à ce qu’il trouve des limites.»
This is a wise decision by the EP. There is an EU Regulation - the EU Blocking Stature - that was intended to protect companies and organisations against sanctions from the US. It must now be used to protect the ICC and its judges from the Trump administration’s sanctions. The ICC must be protected and it must continue to function.
prizes are no longer has value when people with authorities are able to bypass all rights for their own self interests. Due diligence is maybe needed to assess the ROI of those glory labels.