Tuesday 22 September 2026
12:00pm – 1:15pm (UK) / 8:00pm – 9:15pm (Japan)

The International Legal Order: The ICC’s Current Challenges and Future

Online webinar, accessible remotely via Zoom

the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation Organised by

Amid ongoing international conflicts and growing geopolitical tensions, the international legal order is facing increasing pressure. Most recently, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on ICC President Tomoko Akane, a Japanese national, and a senior ICC lawyer, further raising concerns about the independence of international judicial institutions.

This webinar will explore the challenges facing the international legal order, their implications for the ICC and judicial independence, and Japan’s government response. The speakers will also discuss what this situation means for the international rule of law and how international institutions can respond to growing geopolitical pressure.

About the contributors

Professor Sergey Vasiliev

Sergey Vasiliev is Professor of International Law at the Open University of the Netherlands, where he teaches international law and transnational aspects of criminal justice. His research focuses on international criminal law and the institutional and governance aspects of international adjudication. He is a member of the authors’ team of the leading textbook An Introduction to International Criminal Law and Procedure (5th edn, Cambridge University Press, 2024) and co-editor of Governance of International Courts and Tribunals: Institutions, Practices, and Norms (Oxford University Press, 2026).

Kazuko Ito

Kazuko Ito is founder and vice president of Human Rights Now, president of Human Rights Now New York, and an attorney at law. She is a member of the Gender Equality Committee of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations. She is a board member of the Gender Law Society and International Human Rights Law Society in Japan. Ms. Ito has written numerous books and articles on human rights issues, including “Wrongful Convictions and Criminal Justice Reform in Japan” in the University of Cincinnati Law Review, a chapter in the book “The Global Me Too Movement: How Social Media Propelled a Historic Movement and How the Law Responded” (2020), and Business & Human Rights – Changing a society that doesn’t value people(Iwanami Shoten, Publishers, 2025).