Human Rights Groups Join Lawsuit Over Trump’s ICC Sanctions

Ryan J. Farrick — September 26, 2026

American flag hanging on courthouse; image by Bonnie Kittle, via Unsplash.com.

The lawsuit itself claims that Trump’s sanctions on the ICC exceed the president’s powers and are predicated almost entirely on a false claim of a “national emergency,” which was itself triggered by the court’s routine work and investigations.

A coalition of former government officials, human rights groups, and legal experts from around the world have filed eight amicus briefs in support of a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order authorizing sanctions on the International Criminal Court, its officials and staff, and others involved with the tribunal’s operation.

The executive order, signed in February 2025, claims that the International Court “has engaged in illegitimate and baseless actions targeting America and our close ally Israel. The ICC has, without a legitimate basis, asserted jurisdiction over and opened preliminary investigations concerning personnel of the United States and certain of its allies, including Israel, and has further abused its power by issuing baseless arrest warrants targeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Former Minister of Defense Yaov Gallant.”

“The ICC,” the executive order says, “has no jurisdiction over the United States or Israel, as neither country is party to the Rome Statute or a member of the ICC.”

The lawsuit, however, characterizes the order as an illegal attack on international justice.

Many of the groups behind the wave of amicus briefs—including the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, and the Open Society Institute—say they’ve been forced to curtail critical work to comply with Trump’s order, an alleged violation of the organizations’ First and Fifth Amendment rights under the U.S. Constitution.

Florida Lawsuit Threatens Disability Protections — Designed by wirestock from Freepik

The lawsuit itself claims that Trump’s sanctions on the ICC exceed the president’s powers and are predicated almost entirely on a false claim of a “national emergency,” which was itself triggered by the court’s routine work and investigations.

“Behind every civil society organization being silenced or pushed away from the ICC are victims and survivors waiting for justice,” said Alex Deswaef, president of the International Federation for Human Rights. “These sanctions are disrupting the networks of people and organizations that stand with victims, who bring their stories and evidence before the Court, and spreading fear far beyond those directly targeted.”

Amnesty International, another of the groups that signed onto the joint brief, said that, “As the Trump administration steps up its attacks on the ICC and the civil society organizations essential to its work, it is crucial to demonstrate to the US Federal Court how sanctions are harming global civil society, victims and survivors of crime under international law, and the very idea of international justice.”

Human Rights Watch notes that, earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised to “dismantle” the court by taking steps including, but not limited to, sanctions. The Trump administration has also used the executive order as the basis to sanction court prosecutors, judges, and the ICC’s president, as well as the United Nations “special rapporteur” on human rights in the Palestinian Territories.