The ICC is replacing Microsoft 365 with the open source openDesk platform after a sanctions-linked account lockout raised concerns over foreign political influence on its digital operations.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague is transitioning its entire digital workspace from Microsoft 365 to openDesk, a European open-source software suite, in a strategic move to reduce dependence on U.S. technology providers and safeguard institutional autonomy. The migration will cover approximately 1800 workstations.
The decision follows a high-profile incident in May 2025, when ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan was temporarily locked out of his Microsoft account after U.S. sanctions were imposed on ICC officials. The episode highlighted how geopolitical disputes could directly disrupt the court’s internal operations, raising critical concerns over the vulnerability of sensitive legal information to foreign political pressure.
The new system, openDesk, is developed by Zendis, a German state-owned organisation tasked with advancing Europe’s digital sovereignty. Unlike Microsoft’s integrated ecosystem, openDesk is a curated suite of modular open source tools, including Collabora Online for document editing, Open-Xchange App Suite for email and scheduling, and Nextcloud for secure file storage and sharing. The suite is hosted and governed within European legal jurisdiction, ensuring operational independence.
The ICC’s move is widely viewed as a symbolic milestone in Europe’s broader push for digital sovereignty, challenging the long-standing dominance of U.S. cloud and productivity platforms in public institutions.
Responding to the development, Microsoft stated: “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.”
The shift positions open source not as a cost decision, but as a geopolitical and governance imperative.
