Japan's Iwasawa elected as head of International Court of Justice
London –
The International Court of Justice said Monday that Judge Yuji Iwasawa from Japan was elected president by his peers.
Iwasawa is the second Japanese to assume the ICJ's presidency, behind Hisashi Owada, the father of Empress Masako, who served as the Hague-based court's president between 2009 and 2012.
Iwasawa's predecessor, Nawaf Salam, resigned in January this year to become prime minister of his country, Lebanon. Under ICJ rules, Iwasawa will serve as president until Feb. 5, 2027, the original scheduled end of Salam's term.
Yuji Iwasawa is the second Japanese to assume the ICJ's presidency, behind Hisashi Owada, the father of Empress Masako.
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Jiji
Iwasawa became an ICJ judge in June 2018 in a by-election following Owada's retirement. An expert on international law, Iwasawa has served as professor at the University of Tokyo and chaired the U.N. Human Rights Committee.
The Hague also has the International Criminal Tribunal, which handles serious international crimes. It is headed by Tomoko Akane, also from Japan.
The ICJ, established in 1945, is the main judicial body of the United Nations. It deals with disputes between states based on international law, and its rulings are legally binding.
It consists of 15 judges elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council. Judges serve a nine-year term.
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