A legal challenge was submitted in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Tuesday by a broad coalition of advocacy organizations - including Human Rights Watch, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the American Friends Service Committee, and the Open Society Institute - aimed at dismantling the Trump administration's measures against the International Criminal Court (ICC), reported The Independent.
The filing argues that punitive financial and travel restrictions levied against judges and prosecutors fundamentally hinder global accountability for severe international offenses.
According to a press statement released by the organizations, the complaint targets an executive order promulgated by President Donald Trump last year alongside sanctions imposed on a United Nations human rights investigator, three Palestinian Arab rights organizations, and key tribunal personnel.
The coalition describes the executive action as a "blatantly illegal attack on international justice and should be struck down".
In the complaint, the participating groups state that the administration's restrictions force them to “curtail a wide range of human rights and legal work in violation of their First and Fifth Amendment rights under the US Constitution and under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act."
Neither the United States nor Israel has ratified the Rome Statute or acknowledged the jurisdiction of the ICC.
Rebuffing the legal filing, an anonymous White House representative noted that the tribunal's proceedings infringe directly upon the national security and sovereign authority of both Washington and its main Middle Eastern ally. Requests for official comment sent to the US Department of State received no immediate response.
Among those subjected to American penalties last year was Karim Khan, the court's former chief prosecutor who was relieved of his duties last month following an internal probe into allegations of misconduct.
The US sanctions had been applied to Khan and twelve other staff members in retaliation for arrest warrants directed at senior Israeli leadership, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the military campaign in Gaza, as well as inquiries into US military conduct in Afghanistan.
Three of the sanctioned jurists previously launched a legal challenge of their own to the US sanctions, asserting that they are fundamentally illegal.
The latest lawsuit follows declarations made last month by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who confirmed that Washington was launching a “sweeping campaign to dismantle the threat posed by the International Criminal Court to US sovereignty."