The United States has imposed sanctions on International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane of Japan and senior trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye of Senegal, expanding Washington's campaign against the Hague-based court.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the designations were made under an executive order targeting the ICC. The State Department said the officials had been involved in efforts to investigate, arrest, detain or prosecute people whose governments had not consented to the court's jurisdiction.

The ICC said the measures undermine the rule of law. The action comes after earlier US sanctions against judges and prosecutors, which court officials say have affected access to banking, travel and other services needed for their work.

The central issue is not merely symbolic. Still unresolved are the legal scope of the designations, the response of ICC member states and whether the measures change the court's ability to pursue active cases.