The four groups accuse Donald Trump of unlawfully authorizing a sanctions regime early in his second term in office, based on a “pseudo national emergency.” MANHATTAN (CN) — Four American human rights groups on Tuesday filed a lawsuit in New York federal court challenging the Trump administration’s sanctions on individuals and organizations affiliated with or assisting the work of the International Criminal Court, based in The Hague, the Netherlands. The four groups — American Friends Service Committee, Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch and the Open Society Institute — have referred to the direct effects of the financial sanctions as tantamount to a “financial death penalty.” Represented by the Boston-headquartered Foley Hoag firm, the groups seek a declaration that Trump’s executive order imposes the sanctions regime ultra vires, or outside Trump’s authority. Earlier in the year, three sanctioned ICC judges sued Trump over sanctions that they said resulted in freezes on their bank accounts, credit cards and online services, blocked financial transfers and, in some cases, lost health insurance coverage.