The International Court of Justice yesterday appointed Yuji Iwasawa as its new president, replacing Nawaf Salam, the new prime minister of Lebanon.
The 70-year-old will head the court until Salam’s term was due to expire on February 5, 2027, the ICJ said in a statement.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel.Iwasawa has been a member of the court since June 2018. Before joining the ICJ, he was professor of international law at the University of Tokyo and chair of the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
Often dubbed the “world court”, the ICJ, which sits in the Peace Palace in The Hague, rules in disputes between nations. It is the UN’s highest court.
It is sometimes confused with the International Criminal Court, also based in The Hague, which tries individuals for the world’s worst crimes including suspected war crimes and crimes against humanity.