Three ICC judges sue Trump administration over sanctions in Manhattan federal court

Three judges at the International Criminal Court have filed a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan challenging sanctions imposed on them by the Trump administration. The judges say the measures were unlawful and were intended to punish and coerce the court's decisions. The case adds a new legal front to an already tense dispute between the United States and the international tribunal.

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The plaintiffs are Kimberly Prost of Canada, Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda and Reine Adelaide Sophie Alapini-Gansou of Benin. According to the filing, the sanctions were imposed last year and were aimed at exerting extrajudicial pressure on the judges and their colleagues. The lawsuit says the measures blocked their US-based property and assets and prevented US-based entities from dealing with them, including by providing funds, goods or services.

The judges argue that the sanctions exceeded the scope of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and were not tied to a genuine national emergency or extraordinary threat. They say the restrictions were linked to the court's work on Israeli and US war-crimes matters, including the issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a past decision to open a case involving alleged war crimes by US troops in Afghanistan. The filing says the sanctions were designed to influence judicial decision-making by targeting personal and financial interests.

The dispute matters because it touches on the independence of the International Criminal Court and the limits of US pressure on international judicial institutions. The court, established in 2002, has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in its member states, or when the UN Security Council refers a situation. The United States is not among the states that recognise the court's authority, alongside China, Russia and Israel, which has long made ICC actions involving those countries politically sensitive.

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The lawsuit also follows earlier sanctions imposed during Trump's first term on the ICC's top prosecutor, Fatou Bensouda, and one of her aides over the court's Afghanistan work. That history shows a continuing pattern of conflict between Washington and the tribunal when ICC proceedings intersect with US interests or those of close allies. The current case extends that confrontation to sitting judges, which is unusual and likely to draw close attention from governments and legal observers.

What happens next will depend on how the Manhattan court handles the challenge and whether the administration defends the sanctions as lawful under US emergency powers. It is not yet clear how quickly the case will move or whether the sanctions will remain in place during the proceedings. The broader issue is whether the court can continue its work without financial pressure on judges, and whether this dispute prompts further diplomatic friction over the ICC's role.

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