Press Releases
The Selection of Professor Yuji Iwasawa as a Candidate for the Election of a Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
1. The Government of Japan has decided to present the candidacy of Professor Yuji Iwasawa, Professor of the University of Tokyo, for the election of a judge of the ICJ to be held at the United Nations, following the submission of a letter of resignation by Judge Hisashi Owada to the President of the ICJ.
2. Professor Iwasawa is an internationally recognized authority on international law with considerable work experience in this field, including the Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee and a Judge of the Asian Development Bank Administrative Tribunal.
3. In light of the importance of the ICJ, the continuous contribution of a Japanese judge to the ICJ coincides with the national interests of Japan. The Government of Japan actively seeks support of the UN member States for Professor Iwasawa’s candidacy.
The candidates for the election of Judges of the ICJ are nominated by the national groups of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), which was established under the 1907 Hague Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes (Article 4 of the Statute of the ICJ). The Japanese national group of the PCA consists of the following four judges: Judge Hisashi Owada, Judge of the ICJ; Judge Shunji Yanai, Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea; Professor Shinya Murase, emeritus professor of the Sophia University (Tokyo); and Professor Kimio Yakushiji, professor of Ritsumeikan University.) The above-mentioned decision on Professor Iwasawa’s candidacy was made taking into account the decision of the Japanese national group of the PCA.
