Three judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) filed a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday, accusing U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration of imposing sanctions as extrajudicial pressure aimed at punishing and coercing the judges.
The judges are Kimberly Prost of Canada, Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, and Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini-Gansou of Benin. They argue the sanctions were designed to target their financial and personal interests, to punish them for previous judicial decisions, and to force them to prioritize personal gain over rulings based on law and facts.
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on several ICC judges last year in an unprecedented act of retaliation after the court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and decided to open a case on allegations of war crimes by U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
As a result of the sanctions, the judges have had their assets and property in the United States frozen. U.S.-based entities are also prohibited from conducting transactions with them, including providing money, goods, or services.
The lawsuit argues that the sanctions exceeded the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and were not based on a genuine national emergency or unusual threat. The judges describe being sanctioned under IEEPA as a "financial death sentence," preventing them from using credit cards, accessing banking services, using online platforms such as Amazon and Google, booking travel tickets, and in some cases, purchasing health insurance.
The ICC, established in 2002, has international jurisdiction to prosecute genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in member states or if the United Nations Security Council refers a case. Although the ICC has jurisdiction over 125 member states, countries such as the U.S., China, Russia, and Israel do not recognize the court's authority.
This is not the first time the Trump administration has imposed sanctions on the ICC. During his first term, his administration sanctioned Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and an assistant over the court's work related to Afghanistan.
