Three judges from the International Criminal Court (ICC) have launched legal action against the United States, seeking to overturn sanctions imposed by the Trump administration and arguing that the measures amount to “unprecedented” political interference in judicial decision-making.
Judges Kimberly Prost of Canada, Solomy Balungi Bossa of Uganda and Reine Alapini-Gansou of Benin filed a 66-page complaint in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, yesterday, seeking to overturn sanctions imposed under President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14203.
The judges argue the measures were imposed because of judicial decisions made at the Hague-based court.
The Trump administration imposed the sanctions after the ICC pursued investigations involving US personnel in Afghanistan and Israeli officials over the Gaza conflict.
Prost and Bossa were sanctioned for participating in a 2020 Appeals Chamber ruling that authorised an ICC investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan, including allegations involving US personnel.
Alapini-Gansou was sanctioned for serving on the panel that approved arrest warrants in November 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant.
According to the complaint, the sanctions are intended to exert “extra-judicial pressure” on ICC judges and are designed to “punish” them for rulings opposed by Washington while coercing them and their colleagues into issuing future decisions more favourable to US interests.
“The objective is punishing them for prior judicial decisions and coercing them into prioritising their private interests over deciding cases on the basis of the law and facts,” the lawsuit states.
The filing describes the sanctions as “tantamount to the financial death penalty”, claiming they have left the judges unable to access basic financial services despite not being accused of any criminal wrongdoing.
“The sanctions regime punishes Judges Prost, Bossa and Alapini-Gansou for having done nothing more than faithfully discharge their judicial offices,” the lawsuit states.
The ICC judges say they have lost access to bank accounts and credit cards, faced restrictions from online platforms including Amazon and Google, encountered difficulties booking travel and, in some cases, lost access to health insurance.
Prost alleges that HSBC froze her New York bank account and that several technology and travel companies restricted or terminated services. Bossa says her United Nations Federal Credit Union account was frozen, while Alapini-Gansou claims the sanctions disrupted her banking, travel and professional activities and forced her to increase personal security measures.
The filing accused US of double standard and argued that the United States welcomed ICC arrest warrants against Russian President Vladimir Putin, supported prosecutions relating to atrocities in Darfur and Libya, and even authorised direct assistance to ICC investigations concerning Russian nationals in Ukraine.
According to the lawsuit, Washington’s previous cooperation with the court demonstrates that the sanction against ICC jurisdiction have been applied selectively.
French ICC judge Nicolas Guillou who was sanctioned by the US in August 2025, warned a few month ago of reliance on US tech dominance in the context on international sanctions.
“If the President of the United States places you under sanctions, then you will no longer have any means of payment if you are French, since French banks can no longer issue any means of payment that isn’t American,” he said in a hearing before the French parliament in April of this year.
“All your accounts with US suppliers or companies will be closed, and any attempt you make to secure contracts or do business with a US company will be blocked,” he insisted.
Alongside Trump, the lawsuit names Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Bradley Smith, director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
