'History will judge this moment': ICC urges member states to defend the institution

Tomoko Akane, the president of the International Criminal Court (ICC), has urged member nations to actively defend the institution after the United States imposed sanctions on it. “This is not just about defending a single institution, but about safeguarding the international order grounded upon the rule of law,” Akane said in a video statement on Friday. The US imposed sanctions on the court, hours after one of its former judges, Navi Pillay, won the Nobel Peace Prize. The statement said: “This unprecedented step follows a series of designations against thirteen independent Judges and prosecutors who serve the cause of justice.