The International Criminal Court (ICC) announced the election of Japanese Judge Tomoko Akane as its president, making her the first Japanese to hold the presidency of the court.
According to what was reported by the Japanese Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) on Tuesday, the court explained that Akane was elected through the voting of her fellow judges, with her term lasting three years.
Akane stated in a declaration, “I am greatly honored to be elected by my fellow judges. I will focus on enhancing dialogue between the court’s bodies, representatives of the defense, and the victims.”
Akane has served as a judge at the International Criminal Court since March 2018 and previously worked in the Prosecutor’s Office in Japan.
The International Criminal Court aims to prosecute individuals responsible for inhuman atrocities in wars and conflicts and deal with serious crimes such as genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has been actively engaged in addressing war crimes, with several significant cases and investigations in recent years. Notably, the situation in Ukraine has been a major focus, with the ICC opening an investigation in March 2022 into alleged crimes committed in the context of the situation in Ukraine since November 2013. This investigation was prompted by referrals from numerous States Parties and encompasses a broad scope of alleged crimes, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide committed on the territory of Ukraine. In a significant move, the ICC issued arrest warrants in March 2023 for two individuals, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, for the war crime of unlawful deportation of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation.
Additionally, there has been a recent lawsuit filed by three Palestinian rights groups against Israel over allegations of genocide in Gaza. This lawsuit urges the ICC to investigate and potentially issue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders. The lawsuit highlights the grave situation in Gaza, emphasizing the extensive civilian casualties and urging an expansion of the ongoing war crimes investigation to include charges of genocide.
