Four prominent U.S. human rights organizations have filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Trump administration to challenge sanctions imposed on the International Criminal Court (ICC). The groups involved include the American Friends Service Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, and the Open Society Institute.
The lawsuit targets an executive order signed in 2025 that places sanctions on the ICC, as well as its judges, prosecutors, and affiliated individuals. The plaintiffs argue that these crippling sanctions are unlawful and constitute a blatantly illegal attack on international justice designed to undermine the prosecution of war crimes and crimes against humanity, specifically concerning the ICC's investigation of Israeli crimes in Palestine.
The organizations further claim that the sanctions trample constitutional rights and hinder their ability to work. President Donald Trump's opposition to the court, whose jurisdiction the U.S. does not recognize, dates back to his first term.