ICC, insurer Axa cut ties amid Trump campaign against court

Oct 1 (Reuters) - The International Criminal Court has ended its contract with French life and health insurer Axa starting October 1 and will now be using a new health insurance provider, a spokesperson for the Hague-based court said.

The spokesperson gave no reason for the decision, which was first reported on Thursday by the Financial Times, and declined to name the new insurance provider.

President Donald Trump recently urged other countries to leave the ICC, calling it "evil" and "a rogue institution," amid an escalating US campaign against the court.

The Trump administration says the ICC oversteps its authority by claiming jurisdiction over citizens of countries, including the United States and Israel, which have not ratified the court's founding treaty, known as the Rome Statute.

"AXA and the Court have decided by mutual agreement to terminate the contractual relationship," the ICC spokesperson told Reuters in a statement.

AXA did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

The FT said in its report that Axa had cited "risks arising from the extraterritorial application of US sanctions", which the insurer said reflected "an international environment that has become increasingly tense and complex for businesses".

The newspaper, citing a person familiar with the matter, said Axa had held months of discussions internally and with the ICC about potential workarounds, but was unable to find a solution without a so-called blocking statute.

Blocking statutes are legal ⁠mechanisms designed to protect ​Europeans from ​the ⁠extraterritorial effects of sanctions imposed ⁠by ​third countries.

The US has imposed financial sanctions and visa bans on ICC staff, and officials have prepared sanctions that could undercut the court's ability to operate, sources familiar with the matter earlier told Reuters.

(Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Barcelona and Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Alison Williams and Gareth Jones)