Three judges at the International Criminal Court in The Hague have filed a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan against U.S. President Donald Trump and senior officials from his administration, saying sanctions imposed on them last year were illegal and meant to punish them for judicial decisions. The judges are Kimberly Prost of Canada, Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda, and Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin.
They argue the administration exceeded its authority by imposing personal and financial sanctions designed to pressure them outside the courtroom, punish past rulings, and deter other judges at the court. In the complaint, they say the sanctions were intended to force judges and colleagues to put personal interests ahead of decisions based on law and facts.
The judges say the measures have severely disrupted their professional and personal lives. They claim they cannot use credit cards, access banking services, shop on platforms such as Amazon and Google, book flights, and in some cases even buy health insurance. The filing calls the sanctions a “death sentence by financial strangulation” and says they are also undermining the court’s ability to function, because witnesses, experts and others now fear submitting evidence or arguments that might draw U.S. scrutiny.
The suit says the sanctions were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, without any genuine national emergency or extraordinary threat. The case comes amid a wider clash between Washington and The Hague over the ICC’s arrest warrant for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and earlier investigations into alleged war crimes by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. The article says the U.S., Israel, Russia and China do not recognize the court’s jurisdiction, and notes that sanctions on sitting judges are seen as an unprecedented step in U.S.-ICC relations.
