State Leaders Showing Earlier than the Worldwide Court docket of Justice – EJIL: Discuss! – Cyber Tech

Final week Friday, Sir Keir Starmer KC assumed workplace because the Prime Minister of the UK following the decisive victory of his Labour Occasion within the UK’s normal election.  Because the “KC” after his title signifies he’s an achieved lawyer. He had a really profitable profession as an English barrister, and as Director of Public Prosecutions of England and Wales, earlier than coming into into politics. I feel it’s pretty well-known that Sir Keir appeared as counsel and advocate earlier than the Worldwide Court docket of Justice (ICJ) within the deserves part of the Croatia Genocide Conference Case.  He argued earlier than the Court docket over a number of days in March 2014 and you’ll view his preliminary look in that case right here.

In a earlier trivia put up (and within the feedback thereto), it was famous that we have now had a case of an ICJ choose subsequently changing into Prime Minister (Choose Al Khasawneh of Jordan), and of a Prime Minister subsequently changing into Choose advert hoc on the ICJ ( Sir Geoffrey Palmer QC  of New Zealand). Certainly, Choose Al Khasawneh has sat as a Choose advert hoc subsequent to being Prime Minister and is at the moment Choose advert hoc nominated by Nicaragua within the ongoing Nicaragua v Germany case .

I’m not conscious of anybody who has argued earlier than the ICJ subsequently changing into the pinnacle of presidency of a state, or a head of state. Sir Keir might be the primary such individual to look within the Nice Corridor of the Peace Palace (at the least earlier than the ICJ) earlier than ascending to the very best workplace in his land. If there are some other examples, please do put it (them?) within the feedback field under. 

My primary query although is a special one and it’s this:

Have there have been situations of individuals who on the time had been the serving head of presidency/head of state showing earlier than the ICJ?

Solutions within the feedback field please!

[Parenthetically, Sir Keir has appointed Richard Hermer KC as Attorney General. Mr Hermer, who unusually in the UK system is appointed as Attorney General directly from private practice rather than from the lawyers already in Parliament, has been involved in some of the most significant cases involving public international law in the UK domestic courts (including the UK Supreme Court) over the past 2o years, particularly those relating to international humanitarian law, state immunity and the relationship between international law and domestic law.]