International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane warned Friday against "the demise of international rule of law" after the United States imposed sanctions on her. The U.S. sanctioned Akane and Senegalese trial lawyer Abdoulaye Seye on Tuesday as part of the Trump administration's broader campaign against the court, which it has labeled "corrupt and fatally politicized."
The sanctions bar Akane and Seye from entering the United States and from conducting transactions within the U.S. financial system. Akane, in her first public comments since the sanctions were announced, acknowledged anticipating the measures to some extent.
"The important thing is not to let this be the beginning of the demise of international rule of law," Akane stated in a release. The ICC on Wednesday described the U.S. measures as a "flagrant attack" on the court's independence. Support for Akane and the ICC has been voiced by United Nations rights chief Volker Turk and senior European Union officials.
These actions follow previous U.S. sanctions on ICC officials, widely seen as a response to the court's investigations involving Israel, a key U.S. ally. Japan, the largest funder of the ICC and a close U.S. partner, has also expressed objections to the sanctions, with its foreign ministry stating it consistently supports the ICC's efforts to prosecute serious crimes and uphold the rule of law.
The ICC, established in 2002, prosecutes individuals accused of the most severe atrocities and serves as a court of last resort when national legal systems are unable or unwilling to ensure accountability. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the sanctioned individuals "have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction."
The United States signed the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, but never ratified the treaty. Israel, Russia, and China are also not members of the court. In 2023, the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in connection with the war in Ukraine, leading Moscow to issue its own arrest warrants for senior court officials, including Akane.
Akane, who has served as an ICC judge since 2018 and was elected president in March 2024, previously commented on the Russian warrants, stating, "Even if one judge were to die, we are easily replaceable, so there is really no value in targeting us."