ICC judges sue US government over Israel probe sanctions
Three International Criminal Court judges from Canada, Uganda and Benin have filed a lawsuit against the US government over sanctions imposed for the court's investigations involving Israel and the Palestinian territories, arguing the measures unlawfully target them for carrying out their judicial duties.
Three judges of the International Criminal Court have filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Manhattan challenging US sanctions imposed over judicial decisions involving investigations of Israel and American citizens, according to Dutch broadcaster NOS. The Canadian, Ugandan and Beninese jurists brought their action on Thursday, asserting that the restrictions are unlawful and constitute a direct assault on judicial independence.
Sanctions over Israel probes
The sanctions, introduced by Washington last year, include financial restrictions and visa bans targeting the judges and other court personnel involved in probes concerning alleged war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories. Under the measures, the affected judges are barred from accessing assets held in the US and from conducting transactions involving American companies or services. US authorities cited the court's issuance of an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over alleged war crimes as among the decisions prompting the punitive measures.
Judicial independence at stake
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has argued that the tribunal lacks authority to prosecute American nationals or citizens of allied countries not party to the Rome Statute, describing the ICC's actions as an infringement on US sovereignty and national security. The United States does not recognize the court's jurisdiction over its citizens or those of allied nations that have not ratified the treaty establishing the tribunal.
In their lawsuit, the judges argue that no legitimate national emergency exists to justify the sanctions and contend that the measures are "arbitrary and capricious," a legal standard frequently invoked in challenges to US policies. One of the judges described the sanctions as an attempt to pressure and punish members of the judiciary for carrying out their official duties. "Attacking international judges for the exercise of their judicial duties is an unprecedented attack on the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law," lawyers representing one of the judges said in a statement.
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