Four human rights groups sue Trump over sanctions targeting the International Criminal Court

Lawsuit filed in New York

Four human rights organizations filed a 101-page complaint on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, in the Southern District of New York, seeking to overturn sanctions imposed by President Donald Trump on the International Criminal Court (ICC). The plaintiffs are Human Rights Watch, the American Friends Service Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the Open Society Institute, part of the Open Society Foundations. The complaint names Trump as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Attorney General Todd Blanche as defendants. The groups argue the sanctions violate the First and Fifth Amendments of the US Constitution, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and international legal obligations.

The complaint states that the sanctions have caused "profound and irreparable harm" and forced the organizations to limit their interactions with the ICC out of fear of being sanctioned. The plaintiffs contend that the executive order exceeds presidential authority and relies on a baseless declaration of "national emergency."

Constitutional and legal arguments

The filing argues that the sanctions violate the right to free expression protected by the First Amendment, as well as freedom of association and religious freedom. The 101-page document describes the measures as "an unlawful abuse of power that constitutes a direct attack on the rule of law, the independence of judges, prosecutors and lawyers, the fundamental principles of the international legal order, and the principle of equal access to justice." The restrictions "seriously compromise the capacity to prosecute the authors of genocides, war crimes and crimes against humanity," the complaint adds.

Attorney Andrew Loewenstein of Foley Hoag LLP, representing the plaintiffs, said the breadth of organizations joining the challenge demonstrates the damage the executive order is causing.

The fact that so many rights organizations have come together to challenge Trump's illegal executive order demonstrates the widespread damage it is causing among civil society groups dedicated to bringing to justice those responsible for serious crimes.

Sanctions and their origins

Trump signed the executive order on February 6, 2025, authorizing sanctions against ICC officials, judges, and others cooperating with the court. The sanctions include entry bans into the United States and the freezing of financial and property assets. The administration imposed sanctions on four ICC judges. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the sanctions came after judges became involved in what he called illegal and unfounded actions by the court targeting the United States or Israel.

The ICC is politicized and falsely claims to have full freedom to investigate, accuse and prosecute citizens of the United States and our allies.

The ICC condemned the measures as an attempt to undermine the institution's independence. A White House official accused the court of unlawfully exceeding its judicial authority and called it a threat to US national security.

Arrest warrants and the Israel connection

The sanctions arose primarily in response to ICC investigations against Israel, a key US ally. In 2024, the court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leader Ibrahim Al-Masri, in connection with alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza. The ICC has also conducted investigations involving Afghanistan, where judges Bossa and Ibanez Carranza, members of the court since 2018, contributed in 2020 to a decision allowing investigation of alleged war crimes by US troops.

The ICC, established in 2002 and based in The Hague, has launched 18 investigations worldwide, including in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, the Philippines, Darfur in Sudan, and Ukraine. More than 120 countries have signed the Rome Statute, the treaty underpinning the court. The United States and Israel are not among them. Washington's hostility toward the ICC is not exclusive to the Trump administration: previous Democratic administrations also criticized the court.