A US federal court has issued a preliminary injunction against President Donald Trump’s executive order imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC), ruling that the measure likely violates Americans’ constitutional rights.
Judge Nancy Torresen said the order appears to infringe on free speech protections under the First Amendment.
"The Executive Order appears to burden substantially more speech than necessary. Accordingly, the Plaintiffs have established likely success on the merits of their First Amendment challenge," Torresen wrote in her ruling.
The lawsuit was brought by human rights advocates Matthew Smith and Akila Radhakrishnan, who said they were forced to stop working with the ICC due to fears of facing penalties under Trump’s sanctions order issued in February.
The injunction blocks the US government from imposing any penalties on American citizens who engage with the international court.
Ruling welcomed
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which represented the plaintiffs, welcomed the ruling.
"Preventing our clients and others like them from doing critical human rights work with the ICC is unconstitutional, and we’re heartened that the court saw that as well," said Charlie Hogle, staff attorney with the ACLU.
"The First Amendment does not allow the government to impose sweeping limits on what Americans can say and who they can say it to."
The ICC, founded in 1998 under the Rome Statute, prosecutes individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
The US is not a signatory to the Rome Statute but has supported the court’s investigations under several administrations.
President Joe Biden’s government provided evidence to the ICC of suspected war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.
Trump had previously issued a similar sanctions order during his first term in office, which was also blocked by a court in 2021.
That order was later rescinded by President Biden.
