International Criminal Court (ICC) judges Kimberly Prost, Solomy Bossa and Reine Alapini-Gansou on Wednesday sued US President Donald Trump overstepped the bounds of his authority when he imposed sanctions on court officials involved in investigating crimes in Afghanistan and Palestine.
The Men’s suitfiled in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, challenges Trump’s lawsuit Implementing regulation Decree in February 2025 declaring a national emergency and imposing sanctions on prosecutors and judges of the International Criminal Court involved in the “unfounded” issuance of a criminal warrant Arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the earlier decision to open one now droppedCase alleging war crimes by US troops in Afghanistan.
In their complaint, the justices argue that the order goes beyond statutory authority by violating U.S. obligations under international law, conflicts with the laws of Congress and exceeds the president’s authority under the law International Emergency Powers Act and the National Emergency Law. Additionally, the lawsuit alleges that the order violates the 5th Amendment the U.S. Constitution by allowing deprivation of property without due process and is arbitrary and unlawful and therefore violative of the U.S. Constitution Administrative Procedure Act.
Prost from Canada, Bossa from Uganda and Alapini-Gansou from Benin are among several judges, ICC prosecutors and civil organizations they face Impact of sanctionsThese include travel bans, frozen assets, restricted access to technology platforms and canceled bank accounts. Five lawsuits have already been filed against the order, but this is the first challenge involving an ICC judge.
Trump justified the sanctions by saying that neither the USA nor Israel were parties to the contract Roman Statute and are therefore not subject to the authority or control of the ICC. He also stated that the ICC’s “defamed” conduct threatened to violate U.S. sovereignty and that anyone involved in the conduct posed an “unusual and extraordinary” risk to the country’s national security.
Established by the Rome Statute in 2002 ICC has authority over parties that have committed genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and crimes of aggression. Although the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute, it is supports the court in other investigations.
Trump’s order was widespread contested And sentenced by human rights and legal organizations for weakening the effectiveness of the international justice system and placing unnecessary burden on judges with the task of making fair but unfavorable decisions.
“The targeting of international judges for carrying out their judicial duties is an unprecedented attack on judicial independence and the rule of law,” James A. Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative, said in a statement Press release.
