KENYA’S PHOEBE OKOWA ELECTED TO WORLD COURT FOR NINE-YEAR TERM
Kenyan international law scholar Professor Phoebe Okowa has secured a full nine-year term as a judge of the International Court of Justice, marking a major achievement for the country’s legal profession.
Okowa was elected on Tuesday, November 3, after obtaining the required majorities in both the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council.
Her term will begin on February 6, 2027, and run until 2036.
She already serves on the court, having won a by-election in November 2025 to complete the term of Somalia’s former judge, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf.
Based in The Hague, Netherlands, the ICJ is the United Nations’ principal judicial organ, settling legal disputes between states and issuing advisory opinions on international legal questions.