The Court in session in the Great Hall of Justice, 1979

Members of the Court

Current Members of the Court

Fifteen judges, elected for nine-year terms by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. The President and Vice-President are elected by the Court for three years.

Presidency

President and Vice-President

Iwasawa Yuji

President · Japan · Member since 22 June 2018, re-elected 6 February 2021; President as of 3 March 2025

Julia Sebutinde

Vice-President · Uganda · Member since 6 February 2012, re-elected 6 February 2021; Vice-President as from 6 February 2024

Judges

Members of the Court, in order of precedence

Each entry carries the date the judge became a Member of the Court; biographies open on the Court’s site.

Peter Tomka

Slovakia · Member since 6 February 2003; President 2012–2015

Ronny Abraham

France · Member since 15 February 2005; President 2015–2018

Xue Hanqin

China · Member since 29 June 2010; Vice-President 2018–2021

Georg Nolte

Germany · Member since 6 February 2021

Dire Tladi

South Africa · Member since 6 February 2024

Composition

How the Bench is formed

The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected for terms of office of nine years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. It is assisted by a Registry, its administrative organ. In the redesigned site each judge is one content record — name, country, dates, biography in English and French, portrait — that feeds this page, the All Members list and the Presidency page without re-entry.

Members of the Court

More on the Bench

All Members

Every judge since 1946, by country and term.

Learn more

Presidency

The Presidents and Vice-Presidents of the Court since 1946.

Learn more

Contact

Write to the Court

Peace Palace, Carnegieplein 2, 2517 KJ The Hague. Correspondence in English or French.