Four U.S. human rights organizations have taken legal action against President Donald Trump’s administration for imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), alleging that the sanctions are illegal. The lawsuit was filed by the American Friends Service Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, and the Open Society Institute at the Southern District of New York.
The legal challenge contends that Trump overstepped his authority by issuing an executive order in February 2025 that allowed for sanctions against ICC personnel and individuals or entities supporting the court. These sanctions were imposed following the ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants in late 2024 against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes in Gaza, which Israel has denied.
The lawsuit argues that the sanctions have impeded their human rights and legal activities, infringing upon their constitutional rights, including freedom of speech. Human Rights Watch’s international justice director, Liz Evenson, emphasized in an online news briefing the detrimental impact of targeting the ICC through such sanctions on the rule of law and human rights globally.
In response to inquiries about the lawsuit, a White House representative referred to the ICC as politicized and stated that the U.S. would take necessary actions to safeguard its sovereignty and allies from what it perceives as illegitimate actions by the ICC.
The ICC, headquartered in The Hague, is responsible for investigating and prosecuting individuals accused of war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and aggression. The U.S. has had a contentious relationship with the ICC for many years, exacerbated during the Trump administration, which previously sanctioned the ICC’s former chief prosecutor and several judges, including Canada’s Kimberly Prost.
The U.S. government recently launched an intensified effort to dismantle the ICC, citing concerns about American sovereignty. Additionally, advocacy groups have sued the Trump administration over the sanctions, alleging infringement of freedom of speech and suppression of Palestinian human rights advocacy.
Moreover, three sanctioned ICC judges, including Prost, filed a lawsuit arguing that the sanctions were an unlawful attempt to influence their judicial decisions. The legal battle reflects the ongoing tensions between the U.S. and the ICC, with various parties engaged in legal disputes over the sanctions and their implications.