International Criminal Court Ditches Microsoft Office for European Alternative Amid Rising Sovereignty Concerns

The International Criminal Court (ICC) is moving away from Microsoft Office and adopting a European software suite known as openDesk, signaling a growing push among European institutions to reduce dependence on U.S. technology providers.

The transition, confirmed by the ICC to The Register, will see the court migrate its productivity and collaboration tools to openDesk, an open-source platform developed by the Center for Digital Sovereignty (ZenDiS) under the authority of Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Interior.

Although ICC officials declined to elaborate on the decision, the timing coincides with deepening unease in Europe over the geopolitical implications of relying on American technology giants — particularly as tensions between Washington and international organizations have escalated under the Trump administration.

The concern was brought to the forefront in February when President Donald Trump signed an executive order sanctioning ICC officials over arrest warrants issued for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, connected to alleged war crimes in Gaza. The sanctions, which extended to asset freezes and travel restrictions, fueled fears that American companies might be compelled to restrict or suspend services to the court.

Following the sanctions, ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan reportedly lost access to his Microsoft email account, though Microsoft President Brad Smith publicly denied that the company had disabled the account.

“At no point did Microsoft cease or suspend its services to the ICC,” Smith said, emphasizing that the company remained committed to its contractual obligations.

Nonetheless, the incident amplified existing European concerns over data control and sovereignty. The U.S. Cloud Act, which allows Washington access to data stored by American companies even when the information is held in European jurisdictions, has long been viewed by EU officials as a threat to regional privacy laws and institutional independence.

The ICC’s decision to migrate away from Microsoft is widely seen as a precautionary move to ensure data autonomy and shield sensitive judicial operations from external influence.

But the move echoes broader European efforts to assert technological sovereignty. Germany has been at the forefront of these efforts, leading projects aimed at developing homegrown software ecosystems free from U.S. legal and surveillance exposure. The German city of Munich was an early pioneer, migrating its IT infrastructure to Linux and LibreOffice years ago, though it reverted to Microsoft systems in 2020. More recently, the German state of Schleswig-Holstein completed a full transition of 40,000 government accounts to open-source alternatives — including Linux and LibreOffice — as part of its digital independence drive.

ZenDiS, which developed openDesk, describes the platform as a “secure and sovereign digital workspace” tailored for government and international institutions seeking control over their data. The system offers email, document editing, video conferencing, and collaboration tools that mirror Microsoft’s suite, but operate within European data centers governed by EU privacy law.

Analysts believe the ICC’s migration could accelerate similar moves by other international organizations concerned about political exposure and data compliance. Institutions like the ICC are recognizing that control over their digital infrastructure is inseparable from their independence.

The decision also comes amid growing frustration over recent outages on Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS), which temporarily disrupted access to critical systems across Europe. Those incidents, coupled with Microsoft’s admission that it cannot fully guarantee European data sovereignty under U.S. law, have further bolstered the argument for open-source alternatives managed within the continent.

While the ICC’s partnership with ZenDiS marks a decisive step toward digital independence, Microsoft insists its relationship with the court remains intact.

“We value our relationship with the ICC as a customer and are convinced that nothing impedes our ability to continue providing services to the ICC in the future,” a Microsoft spokesperson told The Register.

However, it is believed that while the ICC’s migration may not trigger a mass exodus from U.S. software providers, it reinforces a trend toward regional tech autonomy. For institutions that deal with sensitive judicial or governmental data, the message is that digital sovereignty is becoming as vital as physical security.