U.S. Court Bars Enforcement of Sanctions that Undermine the Rule of Law and Betray American Values

NEW YORK—In a major victory for the rule of law and constitutional rights, a U.S. federal court issued a permanent injunction to protect the First Amendment rights of two plaintiffs who are law professors and could have been targeted by the Trump Administration’s sanctions for their work with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Judge Jesse Furman, U.S. District Judge in the Southern District of New York ruled that Executive Order 14203—which authorized sweeping sanctions against the ICC and draconian civil penalties against those who support its work—violates the plaintiffs’ right to engage in constitutionally-protected speech.

The lawsuit, filed by the Open Society Justice Initiative and the U.S. law firm Foley Hoag on behalf of Gabor Rona and Lisa Davis, challenged the sanctions as a violation of the first and fifth amendments. The two law professors are now allowed to resume their work supporting and advising the ICC Prosecutor and his office on the prosecution of the most heinous crimes under international law.

“This ruling is a reminder that the U.S. has a longstanding tradition of commitment to the rule of law, domestically and internationally,” said James A. Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative. “That is a tradition that must be protected against attempts to intimidate or obstruct legal professionals engaged in this work.”

Following issuance of Executive Order 14203 and designation of ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan in February 2025, the U.S. government has recently sanctioned four ICC judges and the United Nations Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese. The sanctions are designed to deter the ICC from pursuing atrocity crimes investigations targeting U.S. or allied states’ nationals who have not consented to the court’s jurisdiction.  

While the immediate trigger for the Executive Order was the ICC’s decision to issue arrest warrants against senior Israeli officials as part of its Palestine investigation, the sanctions effectively undermine accountability efforts across all the ICC’s workstreams, including those that the U.S. government has supported—for example in Ukraine and Darfur. 

“By threatening the Court’s vital functions, the sanctions could dash the hopes and aspirations for victims and survivors seeking justice in international courts while emboldening the perpetrators of the most serious crimes—including leaders of the Afghan Taliban, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the leader of the Myanmar military junta,” added James A. Goldston, executive director at the Open Society Justice Initiative. 

Founded in 2002 by the Rome Statute, the ICC prosecutes individuals for grave crimes when national courts are unwilling or unable to do so. While the U.S. played a key role in establishing the Court, it has yet to ratify the Rome Statute.  

During the first Trump administration (2017-2021), similar efforts were made to undermine the Court, most notably through Executive Order 13928, which imposed sanctions on ICC officials investigating U.S. nationals.

That order was preliminarily enjoined in 2020, before the Biden administration revoked the sanctions. The Trump administration’s repeated attempts to weaponize sanctions against the ICC have been condemned by the international community, including the UN, the EU, and U.S. allies.