The federal government has belatedly joined international criticism of the Trump administration's latest assault on the International Criminal Court (ICC), prompting questions about Australia's "sluggish" response to sweeping US sanctions designed to cripple it.
Japan, Canada, Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom issued a statement late on Friday reaffirming their "continued and unwavering support for the independence, impartiality, and integrity of the ICC".
It came just hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio unveiled new sanctions freezing the court's US assets and cutting it off from American companies.
"As committed supporters of the ICC we regret and strongly disagree with the announcement of sanctions to be imposed upon the Court by the United States," they said.
"If put into effect, these sanctions will have a significant impact on the Court's work, its dedicated staff and their families. They work every day to bring those accused of the most serious international crimes to justice and to support their victims."
Australia was not listed on the statement when it was first issued on Saturday morning, local time, and the government's initial silence drew fierce criticism from legal experts, who accused it of cowardice.
Marco Rubio has led the Trump administration's policy on the ICC. (Reuters: Eric Lee, file)
But late on Monday Australia's name was added to the list of countries on the joint statement, which was then uploaded to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) website.
A federal government spokesperson told the ABC that Australia was invited to join the statement only after it was first published, and that Australia signalled to the Netherlands on Sunday that it would be willing to put its name on it.
An official from a European country backed that account and defended Australia's approach, saying it took time to coordinate a position across continents over the weekend.
A second official from another Western country also said they did not believe that Australia had "hesitated" to join the statement and the process simply "took time".
But they said the Australian government was still taking a much more "careful" and "low profile" approach to defending the ICC when compared with other US allies.
They drew a contrast between Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi — who on Friday night issued a statement in English and Japanese sharply criticising the sanctions — and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who have not made any personal statements on the issue.
"There was nothing stopping Australia from doing the same,"
they said.
Canberra's cautious approach
Last month the foreign minister declined to directly criticise the Trump administration over the sanctions during an interview with SBS, saying that she "spoke for Australia" not the US.
Professor Catherine Renshaw said it was disappointing Australia did not sign onto the original statement. (ABC News: Lydia Feng)
Officials told the ABC earlier this year that while there was deep unease in Canberra about the sanctions, Australia was wary of a fight with the Trump administration over it, particularly as the campaign against the court has been championed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The Dean of Law at the University of Western Sydney, Professor Catherine Renshaw, said the government's initial response was "sluggish" but that she was still pleased to see Australia eventually join the statement.
"It was disappointing to see Australia not sign onto the original statement — it was particularly disappointing given Australia's long history of building international law and support of institutions like the ICC," she said.
"But it's a welcome development that Australia has now joined friends and allies in supporting international law."
"The foundational principle here is the defence of the rule of law and that is most important when the actions of powerful states threaten those fundamental principles."
The government has also been working with Australians employed by the ICC to help them "work through" the implications of the sanctions, although the Trump administration has offered a 180-day grace period before they are fully implemented.
One official from a third country said it was "surreal" to watch Western diplomats working out how they could best shield their nationals from US sanctions.
Professor Renshaw said the US sanctions would create a "very difficult problem" because US companies and financial institutions played a "central" role providing the court with legal, travel and banking services.
"Australians who work for the court will need to know that the Australian government will support them carrying out their work when it's made far more difficult, complex and perilous by the actions of the US," she said.