Somali judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf has been elected as President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) based in the Hague, the Netherlands.
He was elected to the court’s Chamber of Summary Procedure on Tuesday along with four other judges and two alternate judges who shall hear cases brought before the court.
Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf was reelected to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in November last year. The prominent lawyer who has been a Member of the Court since 2009 has also held the position of Vice-President since 2015.
He is one of three Members of the Court from Africa including Judge Mohamed Bennouna from Morocco and Judge Julia Sebutinde from Uganda.
Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, before his election in 2009, served as Chief Legal Counsel to various international organizations including UNESCO and UNIDO.
He studied law in Somalia and has authored more than 7 books and over 50 articles in various fields of public international law.
