Four major American human rights organizations filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging the Trump administration’s sweeping sanctions against the International Criminal Court, arguing the executive actions violate constitutional protections for U.S. citizens and exceed presidential authority.
Constitutional Rights at Stake
The American Friends Service Committee, Centre for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, and Open Society Institute claim the sanctions force them to curtail human rights work, violating their First Amendment free speech rights and Fifth Amendment due process protections. The lawsuit argues Trump’s executive order relies on a manufactured national emergency with no factual basis, overstepping constitutional limits on presidential power.
Joyce Ajlouny, general secretary of the American Friends Service Committee, said the sanctions seek to intimidate human rights defenders and criminalize the pursuit of justice. The groups argue the executive order harms not only sanctioned organizations but all victims and survivors of war crimes and genocide worldwide.
Escalating Campaign Against International Court
Trump issued the controversial executive order in February 2025, authorizing sanctions against ICC prosecutors, judges, and any individuals or groups supporting court investigations. The order specifically cited arrest warrants issued against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for alleged war crimes in Gaza and an ongoing probe into possible abuses by U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan.
Since implementation, multiple ICC judges and prosecutors have faced U.S. sanctions, along with Palestinian rights groups that provided evidence to the court. The administration also sanctioned United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese. Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged last month to increase pressure to disable the court, accusing it of waging war against America through international law.
Mounting Legal Resistance
This lawsuit joins several previous legal challenges. Federal judges in Maine and New York ruled in 2025 that the executive order violated constitutional rights of advocates and academics who provide expertise to the court. ICC judges and members of Albanese’s family previously filed their own lawsuits against the sanctions, which include travel bans and asset freezes.
International law experts note no U.S. citizens currently face ICC investigations beyond the stalled Afghanistan probe, and no American has ever been prosecuted by the court. The United States never signed the Rome Statute creating the ICC and remains outside its jurisdiction, though the court can investigate abuses committed on member state territory. At least one member nation, Chad, recently withdrew from the court citing Washington pressure.