Human Rights Watch, the Open Society Institute, the American Friends Service Committee and the Center for Constitutional Rights, have filed a lawsuit in a New York court challenging restrictions imposed by the Trump administration on individuals and groups working with the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The case targets an executive order issued by President Donald Trump last year that authorises sanctions against ICC prosecutors, judges and others linked to the court. The measures were introduced after the ICC opened cases involving officials from the United States and Israel.
The organisations argue that the sanctions have restricted their ability to collaborate with the ICC in investigations and prosecutions of alleged genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. They contend that the order exceeds presidential authority and violates constitutional protections, including freedom of speech and religious expression.
The lawsuit comes after a similar legal challenge filed last month by groups advocating for Palestinian human rights. The US State Department dismissed that action, accusing the plaintiffs of enabling what it called ICC overreach and warning that the court poses a threat to American sovereignty.
Separately, three ICC judges have also launched their own legal action against the Trump administration over the same sanctions regime.
This is not the first time Washington has clashed with the court in The Hague. During Trump’s first term, a similar executive order in 2020 was blocked by a federal judge who ruled that the measures likely violated First Amendment rights. President Joe Biden’s administration later withdrew the order in 2021.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently stated that the United States would step up its campaign against the ICC, including diplomatic efforts to persuade other countries to withdraw from the court. Rubio has claimed the tribunal could endanger American personnel involved in immigration enforcement, military operations and actions against vessels suspected of drug trafficking.
At a cabinet meeting on 31 July, President Trump said the administration’s efforts were aimed at protecting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other allies, rather than shielding himself.
The outcome of these legal challenges will be closely watched, as they touch on questions of international justice, national sovereignty and the limits of executive power.
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