Four U.S.-based human rights organizations have taken legal action against the Trump 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 in the Southern District of New York. It contends that President Trump exceeded his authority by issuing an executive order in February 2025 that allowed sanctions against ICC personnel and any individuals or entities supporting the court. The sanctions were imposed following the ICC’s issuance of arrest warrants in late 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant for alleged crimes in Gaza, which Israel has denied.
The lawsuit claims that these sanctions have impeded the organizations’ human rights and legal activities, infringing on rights safeguarded by the U.S. Constitution, including freedom of speech. Human Rights Watch’s international justice director, Liz Evenson, emphasized the detrimental impact of targeting the ICC through sanctions, stating that the Trump administration’s actions undermine the rule of law essential for safety and human rights protection globally.
In response to inquiries about the lawsuit, a White House official criticized the ICC, accusing it of being politicized and asserting the U.S.’s right to safeguard its sovereignty and allies. The ICC, based in The Hague, investigates and prosecutes individuals for war crimes, genocide, crimes against humanity, and aggression. The strained relationship between the U.S. and the ICC has intensified under the Trump administration, which previously sanctioned ICC officials, including former top prosecutor Kimberly Prost.
Moreover, advocacy groups have challenged the Trump administration’s sanctions on the ICC, arguing that they violate freedom of speech and impede Palestinian human rights advocacy. Separately, three sanctioned ICC judges, including Prost, filed a lawsuit in June, also in the Southern District of New York, alleging that the sanctions unlawfully seek to influence their judicial decisions.
Additionally, U.S. legal groups have sought judicial intervention to prevent the Trump administration from restricting birthright citizenship. Despite a Supreme Court ruling rejecting the denial of citizenship to children born in the U.S. to unauthorized or temporary residents, Trump issued executive orders attempting to limit birthright citizenship. The ACLU and other organizations have urged the court to affirm that the government cannot revoke citizenship through executive orders in defiance of the Supreme Court’s directives.
