The United States imposed sweeping new sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) Oct. 9, following up on sanctions imposed last year. These unlawful sanctions are threatening academic freedom, limiting opportunities for law students and making it harder for scholars to engage with international legal institutions, said Leila Sadat, the James Carr Professor of International Criminal Law at Washington University in St. Louis.
Sadat is among a group of law professors, scholars and practitioners who filed an amicus, or friend of the court, brief in a federal case challenging sanctions imposed on the ICC under an executive order that President Donald Trump issued in February 2025.
The executive order authorized sanctions against individuals and organizations associated with certain ICC investigations and prohibits providing “services to, or for the benefit of” designated persons, subject to civil and criminal penalties.
Sadat said the restrictions have consequences far beyond those directly targeted.
“The sanctions regime strikes at the heart of amici’s academic freedom by chilling their ability to engage with international legal institutions, teach about international law, collaborate with United Nations experts and ICC personnel, including any designated persons or entities, and effectively prepare their students for law careers that may implicate international law,” she said in the brief.
Amici refers to non-parties in a court case, such as organizations or experts, who offer information, expertise or insight to help judges make decisions.