Kenyan legal scholar Professor Phoebe Okowa has secured a full nine-year term as a judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), following her election by the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council on Tuesday, November 3.
Okowa received 183 votes in the General Assembly, comfortably exceeding the required absolute majority, while also securing the necessary support in the 15-member Security Council. Her election followed several rounds of voting as the two UN bodies worked to agree on candidates for five positions on the Court.
Her victory means she will continue serving at the ICJ for a full term beginning on February 6, 2027, and running until 2036. She was among nine candidates competing for the five available positions.
The election also followed a challenging contest in which African support was initially divided among several candidates. Sierra Leone eventually withdrew its candidate, Professor Charles Jalloh, and backed Okowa in an effort to consolidate support behind an African contender. The voting process required candidates to obtain an absolute majority independently in both the General Assembly and the Security Council.
Kenyan President William Ruto congratulated Okowa following the announcement, describing her election as a moment of national pride and an affirmation of Kenya’s contribution to international legal affairs.
In his message, Ruto praised her legal expertise, integrity and professional record, wishing her success as she takes on the responsibility of serving on the Court. He also highlighted the ICJ’s role in upholding international law and promoting the peaceful resolution of disputes between countries.
Okowa first joined the Court in November 2025 after being elected to fill the remaining term of Somali judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, who resigned. That appointment was due to expire in February 2027, making the latest election decisive for her long-term position on the 15-member bench.
Born in Kericho, Kenya, Okowa is a distinguished scholar of public international law. She studied law at the University of Nairobi, graduating with First Class Honours in 1987, before pursuing further studies at the University of Oxford, where she obtained a Bachelor of Civil Law and a doctorate in public international law.
She has served as a professor of public international law at Queen Mary University of London and has advised governments and other institutions on complex legal matters. Her professional experience also includes work before international courts and tribunals, as well as membership of the United Nations International Law Commission.
In 2021, she became the first African woman elected to the UN International Law Commission since its establishment in 1947, adding to a career that has placed her among prominent African figures in international legal scholarship.
The ICJ, based in The Hague in the Netherlands, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It settles legal disputes submitted by states and issues advisory opinions on questions of international law referred to it by authorized UN bodies and agencies. It is distinct from the International Criminal Court, which prosecutes individuals accused of serious international crimes.
Okowa will join four other judges elected during the same process: Dapo Akande of the United Kingdom, François Alabrune of France, Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud of Jordan and Rena Lee of Singapore.
Her election secures Kenya’s continued representation on the Court for the next nine years and gives an experienced African international law scholar a longer mandate at an institution whose decisions shape the interpretation and application of international law.
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