Bar associations back one challenge to U.S. sanctions on the ICC as a federal court lets another proceed
On September 25 eight amicus briefs were filed in support of a lawsuit by Human Rights Watch and three other organizations against the executive order authorizing sanctions on International Criminal Court officials and those who assist the court. The International Criminal Court Bar Association argued that the sanctions threaten the independence of ICC lawyers, and the New York City Bar Association that the order interferes with the work of the legal profession, according to Human Rights Watch. On September 28, in a separate case brought by Fortify Rights founder Matthew Smith and human rights lawyer Akila Radhakrishnan, a federal court in Maine refused to dismiss the challenge, writing that there is a strong likelihood the order violated their First Amendment rights. The ruling is not a final decision on the merits. The administration has sanctioned ICC prosecutors and nine of the court’s judges, including its president.