Key facts
- Four US human rights groups have sued the Trump administration over its campaign against the International Criminal Court.
- The lawsuit challenges an executive order authorizing sanctions on ICC officials, judges, and others involved with the court.
- Plaintiffs argue the sanctions violate US law, including constitutional protections for free speech and association.
- The suit claims the sanctions criminalize the work of those seeking to combat impunity by collaborating with the court.
- Similar lawsuits have been filed by other advocacy groups and sanctioned individuals.
Four prominent U.S. human rights organizations have filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the Trump administration's campaign against the International Criminal Court (ICC). The groups argue that an executive order issued in February 2025, which authorizes sanctions on ICC officials, judges, and others assisting its work, is an illegal attack on international justice and violates U.S. law, including constitutional protections for free speech and association.
The plaintiffs, including Human Rights Watch and the Open Society Institute, state that the sanctions hinder their ability to represent victims before the court and collaborate with it, thereby undermining access to justice for victims of major human rights violations. The lawsuit follows similar legal challenges brought by other advocacy groups and some of the sanctioned individuals.
The U.S. government has long opposed the ICC, but escalated its actions after the ICC prosecutor issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. In response, the U.S. sanctioned ICC prosecutors, three Palestinian human rights groups, and the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Palestinian territory. These sanctions have resulted in travel bans, frozen bank accounts, and denial of access to digital services for targeted individuals, and have also impacted rights groups' ability to operate and collaborate.