PRESS RELEASE – May 15, 2026, Paris
Sanctions against Francesca Albanese: JURDI welcomes the Federal Court's decision Washington DC and calls for the revocation of sanctions
The Association of Jurists for Respect for International Law (JURDI) welcomes the decision rendered on May 13, 2026, by Judge Richard J. Leon of the Federal Court for the District of Columbia, which suspends the sanctions imposed by the Trump administration against Ms. Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories. It calls on the President of the United States to immediately revoke Executive Order 14203, “Imposing Sanctions Against the International Criminal Court.”.
Adopted in July 2025 against Ms. Francesca Albanese for her documentation and advocacy work, these sanctions led to the freezing of her assets in the United States, her being barred from entering the US, the severing of her professional relationships with any American, and her complete exclusion from banking services, particularly in Europe. They are part of a broader policy of pressure and reprisals targeting all those who document and legally classify crimes committed by American citizens and their allies—including Israel. Eleven judges of the International Criminal Court are currently sanctioned, including the French judge Nicolas Guillou, as well as four Palestinian human rights NGOs.
The seriousness of the attack against Ms. Albanese is all the more evident given that she is carrying out a mandate as an independent expert for the United Nations and, as such, enjoys functional immunity covering all words spoken in the exercise of her functions, under the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations – to which the United States has been a party since 1970, and whose scope has been confirmed twice by the International Court of Justice.
The American justice system considers that these sanctions punish the expression of a legal opinion formulated by Ms. Albanese within the framework of the mandate entrusted by the Human Rights Council, and that they thereby disregard the First Amendment of the American Constitution which guarantees freedom of expression.
This decision reinforces the position that JURDI has consistently defended: no State can, without undermining the fundamental principles of the rule of law, obstruct the exercise of an international mandate or silence those who uphold the requirements of international law for crimes committed by Israel in occupied Palestine. It is in this spirit that JURDI addressed an open letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on February 18, 2026, requesting the protection of Ms. Albanese, and that it filed a complaint with the Court of Justice of the Republic on March 4, 2026, against the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs for statements falsely attributed to the Special Rapporteur.
JURDI will remain committed to supporting all those who work to document, classify and punish the most serious violations of international law committed in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to respect their independence.
JURDI calls for:
- The immediate revocation of Presidential Decree 14203 by the President of the United States,
- The adoption by the European Commission of all measures necessary for the effective application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2271/96, as amended by Delegated Regulation (EU) 2018/1100, with a view to preventing the recognition and implementation in the Union of the extraterritorial effects of US sanctions,
- Taking measures to prevent the effects of overcompliance by European service providers with foreign extraterritorial sanctions, in particular through structured dialogue with these providers and clear guidelines reminding them of the lack of direct legal effect of these sanctions in the legal order of the European Union,
- The referral to the International Court of Justice, by the United Nations General Assembly, of a request for an advisory opinion on the compatibility with international law of extraterritorial sanctions targeting international justice actors and human rights organizations,
- The establishment of financial support mechanisms designed to mitigate the economic consequences suffered by Palestinian NGOs affected by US sanctions,
- Public opposition to any attempt to influence the ICC's criminal policy and the Court's independence,
- France's strengthening of its cooperation with the International Criminal Court and full respect for its obligations under the Rome Statute, in particular the obligation to execute arrest warrants issued by the Court against any person under its jurisdiction or control.
