Lawyer who opposed UK's Chagos claim backed for top job by Attorney General

Telegraph

17-02-2025

A lawyer who opposed the UK's claim to the Chagos Islands has been backed by the Attorney General to represent Britain as an international judge.
Professor Dapo Akande, a legal scholar at the University of Oxford, was proposed by Sir Keir Starmer and Lord Hermer last year to represent Britain at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The nomination came despite his support for Mauritius in a 2019 case on the Chagos Islands, in which the ICJ ruled that the UK give the islands away 'as rapidly as possible'.
In that case, Prof Akande spoke out against Britain's ownership of the islands, describing the case as a 'decolonisation' effort and arguing that they should be given away.
Representing Zambia, he said the Chagos case was 'about the international law obligations regarding decolonisation ' and that it should not be treated as a 'purely bilateral dispute' between the UK and Mauritius.
The case was brought before the ICJ, the principal law court of the United Nations, to settle an ongoing dispute over the islands dating back to the 1960s.
Although the Chagos Islands were never formally part of Mauritius, lawyers including Prof Akande claimed that the sovereignty dispute was a matter of decolonisation.
The decision has since been used by supporters of a Chagos deal, including Sir Keir and Lord Hermer, to argue that the UK must give away the islands or be in breach of international law.
But opponents of the deal, including the Conservatives and some members of Donald Trump's team, argue that giving away the islands will put the base at risk of surveillance by China – one of Mauritius's allies.
Shortly after taking office, the Labour government nominated Prof Akande to represent Britain at the court for a nine-year term between 2027 and 2036. Elections are expected to take place next year.
At the time, Lord Hermer welcomed the nomination, describing himself as 'delighted' that the lawyer would be Britain's candidate for the court's bench.
He released a video with Prof Akande and said the UK 'could not be prouder' than to nominate him for the position.
Lord Hermer has come under criticism in recent weeks for his involvement in the Chagos deal, which will involve the UK giving up sovereignty of the islands and leasing back a joint US-UK military base there at a cost of at least £9bn over a century.
He reportedly changed the Government's official legal position after Labour won the election to warn that the islands represented a significant legal risk.
However, the Labour Government's arguments in favour of the deal have repeatedly been questioned, including by other ministers.
A new report by the Policy Exchange think tank has argued that the Government's case for a Chagos deal has 'no basis in reality' and has 'already been publicly contradicted by another Minister'.
Tom Tugendhat, the former security minister, said the main threat to British security in the Indian Ocean was 'the Government's distorted interpretation of the UK's legal obligations, and its willingness to surrender meekly to a Mauritian shakedown'.
'Every single defence of the deal put forward by the Government – whether strategic or legal – has proved to be baseless,' he said.
'It is past time for the Government to come to its senses, to remember its duty to defend the UK's vital strategic interests, and to walk away from the deal.'
Although he was acting for Zambia during the Chagos case, Prof Akande has also expressed his views about it, arguing in the European Journal of International Law that the dispute over the islands 'relates to decolonisation' and the 'exercise of the principle of self-determination'.
He said it may be the case that the ICJ has the power to issue a binding ruling on the UK to give up the islands since as a member of the UN, 'it has also given, in a general way, its consent to exercise of the Court's advisory jurisdiction'.
The Telegraph previously revealed that Prof Akande has also acted as a legal adviser to Jeremy Corbyn.
In 2018, the former Labour leader sought his opinion on the UK's bombing of Syria. Mr Akande argued that the air strikes did not comply with international law.
Announcing Prof Akande's nomination, Sir Keir said he was 'personally committed to strengthening international rule of law and the institutions that support it'.
He added: 'Professor Akande is exceptionally well-qualified for this role. I believe he would make a formidable judge on the ICJ.'
Members of the Trump administration have publicly criticised the Chagos deal.
Jim Risch, the US senator who chairs the Senate foreign affairs committee, said in a speech at Policy Exchange on Monday: 'I'd be remiss if I didn't remind everyone that Diego Garcia serves as an extremely valuable platform for the US to collect intelligence and conduct military operations in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
'Our strategic bombers operate from Diego Garcia, and our nuclear-powered submarines conduct port calls there. Simply put, Diego Garcia plays an indispensable role in helping all of us deter Chinese aggression.
'I'm concerned that the decision to hand over the Chacos islands to Mauritius creates unneeded risk to our military position in the Indian Ocean, and will allow the Chinese to gain greater insight in our activities.
'At Diego Garcia, we understand that the government has put measures in place to limit the Chinese Navy's ability to encroach upon Diego Garcia. But it isn't just about the Chinese navy. We are equally worried about collection activities conducted by China's so-called commercial and oceanographic spy business.
'Ceding ground to China is a dangerous surrender and the US and the UK need to work together to push back on this. While this is ultimately a British decision, retaining sovereign control over the eagle Garcia is imperative for our collective security.'