Britain Returns to World Court as Dapo Akande Wins ICJ Seat

British international lawyer Dapo Akande has been elected to the International Court of Justice, restoring a UK judge to the UN's principal judicial organ almost a decade after Britain unexpectedly lost its seat. Akande will serve a minimum nine-year term as one of the court's 15 judges.

The election marks a significant diplomatic recovery for the UK at the United Nations. It follows the 2017 defeat of Sir Christopher Greenwood, who lost his seat to his Indian rival in a vote that left Britain without a judge on the court for the first time in its history.

Who is the new judge?

Prof Akande originally qualified as a lawyer in Nigeria. He is now one of the UK's leading international lawyers, a professor of public international law and a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford. He also holds an elected seat on the UN International Law Commission, the body of legal experts that codifies and develops international law.

He has practised extensively before international tribunals. He has acted as counsel, adviser and expert in cases before international courts, including the ICJ itself.

Akande said: "I am deeply honoured to be elected to the international court of justice. I am incredibly grateful to all the states that have put their faith in me. I pledge to serve with independence and to deciding cases on the basis of a faithful and impartial application of the law."

He added: "I look forward to contributing to the ICJ's vital work in helping to resolve disputes by peaceful means, alongside the other colleagues elected today."

What happened in 2017?

The Greenwood defeat stung Westminster. Britain was left, in the words of contemporary commentators, soul searching about its standing at the UN and its record of compliance with ICJ advisory opinions (non-binding rulings the court issues at the request of UN bodies).

The loss did not come out of nowhere. A year earlier, in 2016, the UN General Assembly voted 94-15 to refer the disputed legal status of the UK's hold over the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean to the ICJ. The resolution was backed by Mauritius, which claims the archipelago.

The court subsequently found for Mauritius. The current Labour government then completed negotiations for a handover deal that had been started under the previous Conservative government. The legal process to finalise the deal in the UK parliament remains stalled, however, due to objections from the Trump administration.

What does the court actually do?

The ICJ, sometimes described as the UN's top court, adjudicates disputes between states. It has recently drawn global attention through a series of opinions on Israel's failure, as an occupying power, to fulfil its responsibilities to the population of Gaza.

Its bench of 15 judges sits in The Hague. Akande joins at a moment when the court's docket — from territorial disputes to occupation and genocide allegations — is unusually prominent in world politics.

How did the UK campaign?

The lord chancellor, Alex Norris, campaigned hard for Akande's election, an effort that required lining up votes across the UN membership.

Norris said: "At a moment when international law is under pressure Prof Akande brings the independence, legal rigour, judgment and breadth of perspective that the court needs. He would make a formidable contribution to its work."

He also used the moment to press a wider point. The UK, he said, has been a steadfast supporter of the court: "We have accepted its compulsory jurisdiction. And we again encourage states that have not yet done so to consider accepting the court's jurisdiction in accordance with its statute."

Compulsory jurisdiction means a state accepts in advance that the court may hear claims against it, without needing case-by-case consent.

What does this mean for practitioners?

For international law practitioners, the election signals two things. First, the UK has rebuilt enough diplomatic goodwill at the General Assembly and Security Council — the two bodies that elect ICJ judges — to return a national to the bench. Second, Akande's profile as a scholar-practitioner with developing-world roots and an Oxford platform fits the court's current needs: technical depth, independence, and credibility across both global north and south. Litigators can expect a judge familiar with the craft of counsel work before the very court he will now help steer.