This is a lawsuit about the constitutionality of President Trump’s Executive Order authorizing sanctions against individuals who assist the International Criminal Court (ICC). The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and private counsel brought this suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on January 15, 2021 in response to the June 11, 2020 Executive Order authorizing economic sanctions against individuals who assist the International Criminal Court (ICC) in investigating or prosecuting war crimes and other grave human rights violations. The plaintiffs argued that the Trump Administration violated the First Amendment when it prevented individuals in the ICC’s justice proceedings from providing human rights expertise and representing victims.

The plaintiffs were three law faculty and a human rights attorney who work with or advocate before the International Criminal Court. They sued the President in his official capacity, the U.S. Department of State, the Secretary of State, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Secretary of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Attorney General, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and the Director of the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

The plaintiffs sought to invalidate the Executive Order and block the Trump administration from implementing or enforcing it against any individual seeking to assist the ICC. They sued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and §706 of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The plaintiffs sought declaratory relief and an injunction that would prevent the defendants from implementing or enforcing the Executive Order, Regulations and Designations, and IEEPA’s civil or criminal penalty provisions against the plaintiffs. Additionally, the plaintiffs requested payment for their costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees incurred in this action.

On January 19, 2021, the case was assigned to Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero. The case was reassigned to District Court Judge Charles R. Breyer on January 29, 2021. The case is ongoing.

Eilidh Jenness - 03/10/2021


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