The president of the International Criminal Court on Monday said threats facing the institution, including possible U.S. sanctions and Russian warrants for staff members, "jeopardize its very existence." Speaking at an annual conference of the court's 124 members, President Judge Tomoko Akane did not name Russia or the United States, but referred to them as permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. "It's clear by any metric, by any benchmark, this assembly is at a pivotal time," ICC prosecutor Karim Khan said in his speech at the opening of the conference. "We are facing unprecedented challenges. We see civil society victims, survivors, humanity at large, I think have unprecedented expectations." Russia issued an arrest warrant for ICC chief Prosecutor Karim Khan two months after the court in The Hague issued a warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. The United States House of Representatives in June passed a bill to sanction the court in response to Khan's request for an arrest warrant against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defense chief, Yoav Gallant.
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