Photo/Illutration Tomoko Akane, the head of the International Criminal Court, responds in an interview with The Asahi Shimbun in Tokyo on Dec. 12. (Taketsugu Sato)

The economic sanctions being mulled by the United States against the International Criminal Court threatens the very existence of the international tribunal, according to its president.

Tomoko Akane, the first Japanese president of the ICC, said in an interview with The Asahi Shimbun in Tokyo on Dec. 12 that economic sanctions being discussed in the U.S. Senate would make it “impossible for the ICC to continue to exist.”

The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed a bill to impose economic sanctions against the ICC.

The move came in the wake of an arrest warrant issued in November by the ICC for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and other Israeli officials for their alleged involvement in war crimes against Palestine.

Bipartisan support has also developed in the U.S. Senate for legislation imposing economic sanctions against the ICC.

While Akane said she was unsure of the exact nature of the contents of the legislation, she pointed out that the sanctions could expand to cover a wide range of ICC prosecutors, judges and other employees, including herself.

“Major sanctions would make it impossible for the ICC to continue existing,” she said.

If the sanctions were imposed on ICC itself, Akane said, “There is the possibility that banks not only in the United States, but also in Europe might suspend all transactions with the ICC. If that happened, we would be unable to pay our employees and we would be forced to stop our activities.”

She said in that event, the arrest warrants issued by the ICC against not only Israeli officials, but also the leaders of Hamas as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin, would, in effect, be made unenforceable.

“’Rule of law’ in the international community would be rendered worthless, leading to a spread of ‘domination by force’ and victims of war crimes would not be compensated,” Akane said.

The ICC in 2023 issued the arrest warrant against Putin and other Russian officials for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In retaliation, Russia placed Akane and other ICC officials on its most wanted list.

Akane said Japan, the largest financial contributor to the ICC, has an important role to play.

“It is one of the nations that has embraced domestically and abroad the importance of ‘rule of law,’” she said. “In order to allow for the continued existence of the ICC, it has the obligation to undertake some sort of political or diplomatic action.”

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