The Hague: The European Parliament has awarded the Sakharov Prize 2026 for Freedom of Thought collectively to the International Criminal Court and its officials. President Roberta Metsola announced the laureates in the plenary hemicycle in Strasbourg. The ceremony will take place during the December 2026 plenary session.
Parliament cited the Court’s work investigating and prosecuting the gravest international crimes: genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of aggression. The Sakharov Prize 2026 also acknowledges its trials and its arrest warrants. Metsola said the European Union rests on respect for multilateralism and international institutions, and that Parliament “recognises the Court’s important work in upholding international law and justice.”
The choice carries a political message. In their 2025 annual reports, MEPs voiced strong concern about threats to the Court, especially sanctions imposed since 2025, mainly by the United States, that affect the institution, its prosecutors, judges, staff and partners. Honouring the Court with the Sakharov Prize 2026 places Parliament firmly on its side in that dispute.
Parliament has repeatedly urged the Commission to activate the EU blocking statute. That instrument is designed to shield European operators from the effects of foreign measures applied beyond a country’s own borders. MEPs argue that using it would protect Court officials and the organisations that cooperate with them from the consequences of sanctions. Whether the Commission acts remains an open question.
The Sakharov Prize 2026 also fits a wider pattern in Parliament’s thinking about the rule of law. Lawmakers have tied the credibility of Europe’s own democratic standards to its willingness to defend institutions that hold powerful actors to account. By naming a court rather than an individual dissident, the 2026 decision highlights the collective, institutional side of that defence. That framing makes the choice a statement about institutions as much as individuals.
Parliament has also welcomed continued EU financial support for the Court, and the award may sharpen calls to keep that funding stable. The Court depends on cooperation from states to execute warrants and gather evidence, so political backing matters as much as money. Staff in The Hague now receive a high-profile signal that European lawmakers stand behind their work.
The prize, named after the Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, comes with a ceremony in Strasbourg this December. Attention will turn to who represents the Court there and whether the Commission responds to the blocking statute request. For now, the Sakharov Prize 2026 puts international justice at the centre of the Union’s human rights agenda.
