A coalition of four prominent human rights organizations filed a lawsuit on Tuesday challenging the Trump administration’s sanctions regime against the International Criminal Court. The plaintiffs—The American Friends Service Committee, the Centre for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, and the Open Society Institute—contend that the sanctions compel them to abandon significant portions of their human rights and legal work, thereby violating fundamental constitutional protections including freedom of speech and due process rights.
The administration implemented sweeping sanctions through an executive order in February 2025 that authorizes penalties against ICC prosecutors, judges, officials, and organizations supporting the court’s investigations. The administration specifically cited the court’s arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu related to Gaza and investigations into alleged abuses by foreign forces in Afghanistan. Since implementation, multiple ICC judges and prosecutors have been sanctioned, along with Palestinian rights groups that provided evidence to the court and UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.
The organizations argue in their legal filing that Trump exceeded presidential authority by invoking what they characterize as a baseless national emergency declaration. They detail how the sanctions have forced them to cease activities including representing war crimes victims, submitting legal briefs to the ICC, and collaborating with sanctioned Palestinian organizations on litigation and advocacy. The lawsuit represents an additional challenge to the administration’s ICC campaign, building on earlier legal action filed by other advocacy organizations and lawsuits brought by ICC judges and Albanese’s family.
State Department officials have signaled intention to escalate pressure against the court. Recently, Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged increased scrutiny of countries receiving US assistance and announced plans to heighten penalties on officials. International legal scholars have questioned the timing of the administration’s campaign, noting that beyond a prolonged Afghanistan investigation, no US citizens are currently known to face ICC scrutiny, and no American has ever been prosecuted by the court. The US remains a non-signatory to the ICC’s founding Rome Statute.
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