Three judges at the International Criminal Court, an independent body in The Hague, sued the Trump administration in New York on Wednesday, claiming that the U.S.-imposed sanctions, in connection with the court’s investigations involving Israel, were illegal.
The judges Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin, Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda and Kimberly Prost of Canada filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, arguing that U.S. President Donald Trump’s sanctions exceed his legal authority and threaten judicial independence.
The Trump administration has sanctioned eight ICC judges under Executive Order 14203 for targeting Israel, after the court issued an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The United States and Israel are not parties to the Hague-based court.
The three judges who filed the lawsuit claimed that the sanctions have disrupted their personal and professional lives by restricting access to their U.S.-based bank accounts and other transactions, and that they are “designed to intimidate and influence the judges’ decision-making.”
According to the court filing, Prost is “confined to cash transactions” when she travels outside the European Union or Canada and “her accounts with U.S. service companies, such as Amazon, Google and Expedia, have been limited or canceled entirely,” making tasks like booking hotels or calling a taxi difficult.
Prost also claimed that she has lost the ability to attend speaking engagements in the United States, including at Harvard University and Columbia University.
Bossa alleged that, in addition to financial restrictions and canceled speaking engagements, she can no longer access her personal Google email account.
According to the lawsuit, Alapini-Gansou can no longer use a credit card from a French bank, “limiting her ability to cover basic expenses.”
She also claimed that she “can no longer walk to the court due to security concerns” and that she “no longer feels free to walk around at will, as she fears she may be attacked.”
The complaint argues that the Trump administration improperly invoked the executive order, which was intended to address national security threats.
They are seeking a court order blocking enforcement of the sanctions and a declaration that the measures are unlawful, as well as financial relief for costs and attorneys’ fees.
