Four Human Rights Groups Sue Trump Over the Order Sanctioning ICC Prosecutors and Judges

On August 11, 2026, the American Friends Service Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch and the Open Society Institute filed suit in the Southern District of New York challenging Executive Order 14203, Trump's 2025 order authorizing sanctions on International Criminal Court officials and those assisting the court. The administration has used it to sanction ICC prosecutors, eight ICC judges, a UN Special Rapporteur, and three Palestinian human rights groups. The plaintiffs say the sanctions force them to curtail legal and advocacy work in violation of the First and Fifth Amendments and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

US organizations face up to 20 years' imprisonment and large fines for providing services to sanctioned persons, a penalty the plaintiffs say has chilled work well beyond the sanctioned parties. The suit also argues the order exceeds presidential authority and rests on a national emergency declaration with no factual basis.

The filing follows Secretary of State Marco Rubio's July 2026 announcement of an escalated campaign to dismantle the court. In 2025, federal courts in New York and Maine found the same order violated the First Amendment as to the plaintiffs there. The new suit is pending.