THE GOVERNMENT OF KENYA PROUDLY PRESENTS PROFESSOR PHOEBE OKOWA AS OUR NOMINEE TO THE INTERNATIONAL LAW COMMISSION FOR THE TERM 2023-2027.

"An inspiring woman and an acclaimed international legal scholar, her qualities and qualifications as outlined below speak for themselves.

Professor Okowa has taught and carried out research in public international law for more than 25 years in different Universities around the world. In addition to her purely academic work, she has also undertaken important advisory work for various governments and non-governmental organisations. A Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, she has appeared as counsel before the International Court of Justice, prepared amicus briefs on questions of international law for counsel before domestic courts and lectured on practical questions of international law for the United Nations at its Regional Course on International Law for Africa, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia."

Ambassador Dr. Martin Kimani
Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kenya to the United Nations, New York

QUALIFICATIONS, POSITIONS AND CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
  • Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil), University of Oxford (1994)
  • Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL), University of Oxford, (1990)
  • Bachelor of Laws (LLB – First Class Honours), University of Nairobi (1987).
  • Advocate, Member of the Kenyan Bar (called in October 1990)
  • Professor of Public International Law, Queen Mary University of London (2014-present)
  • Director of Graduate Studies, Queen Mary University of London (2020-present)
  • Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (2016-present)
  • Joint editor, Foundations of Public International Law (Oxford University Press).
  • Member, Executive Committee, International Society of Public Law
  • Member of the International Advisory Board, Stockholm Centre for International Law and Justice
  • Member of the Society of Legal Scholars
  • Co-counsel before the International Court of Justice, in a case concerning the application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Provisional Measures, Preliminary Objections to Jurisdiction
  • Co-counsel before the International Court of Justice, in a case concerning maritime delimitation
  • Amicus briefs on conflicts between treaty obligations and their implication for domestic application
  • Lecturer in International Law, United Nations Regional Course for Africa (for Diplomats and Government Officials), Addis Ababa, 2020
  • Lecture on Protection of Natural Resources in Situations of Armed Conflict, United Nations Audio Visual Library of International Law, 2019
  • Legal opinion for a State in connection with their preparation for intervention before the International Court in the Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Islands Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965, Advisory Opinion
  • Member of the Editorial Advisory Board, African Yearbook of International and Comparative Law, 2020
  • Member of the Advisory Board, African Association for International Law, 2015
  • Ad Hoc Member. United Nations Panel of Experts on the Avoidance and Settlement of Environmental Disputes, The Hague 2006
  • Member, ILA Committee on Transnational Enforcement of Environmental Law, 1997-2006
  • Joint Editor (with Professor Malgosia Fitzmaurice), Queen Mary Studies in International Law, 2002-2018
  • Global Visiting Professor, New York University School of Law, 2011-2012 and 2015-2016

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PUBLICATIONS

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EVENTS

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Phoebe Okowa