Panorama

European Parliament awards Sakharov Prize to International Criminal Court

The European Parliament honours the International Criminal Court's work in defending international law and human rights with the 50,000-euro Sakharov Prize for intellectual freedom.

22 October 2026Tagblick Newsdesk

AI-generatedWritten by an AI system, editorially responsible — how we work

Archive photo: European Parliament awards Sakharov Prize to International Criminal Court — Archive photoPhoto: European Parliament · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 4.0

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has been awarded this year's Sakharov Prize for Intellectual Freedom by the European Parliament. The decision was made by the Conference of Presidents in the European Parliament, which brings together the parliamentary president and the chairs of parliamentary groups. European Parliament President Metsola announced the award in Strasbourg.

The EU Parliament's honour recognises the court's work in defending international law, international justice and human rights, as well as its fight against impunity for grave human rights crimes. According to Belgian radio, the Social Democrats had nominated the criminal court for the prize.

The decision comes against a backdrop of political tensions: the US administration had previously announced far-reaching sanctions against the ICC, according to multiple sources. The German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk reported that attacks on the court and its judges and prosecutors had preceded the award.

The Sakharov Prize, endowed with 50,000 euros, is an annual award given by the European Parliament. It is named after Soviet atomic physicist and human rights advocate Andrei Sakharov and honours commitment to intellectual freedom.

The European Parliament's honouring of the ICC in The Hague is interpreted by EU representatives as a signal against external pressure on the international justice body. According to Belgian radio, EU legislator Kathleen Van Brempt commented on the decision as a clear signal.

This item was written by an AI system on the basis of the headlines and short teasers of the independently operating newsrooms named below. We disclose this under Art. 50(4), second subparagraph, of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (AI Act). Before publication we check origin and verifiability — anything that appears in only one place is not published — as well as language, substance and legally sensitive content. No separate substantive review of each individual item by a natural person takes place; we therefore do not rely on the exemption in Art. 50(4), second subparagraph, of the AI Act. Editorial responsibility for this publication rests with the person named in the imprint (§ 18 Abs. 2 MStV). Please report errors to [email protected] — we will correct or remove the item. Full reports are available from the sources listed.