It is both a pleasure and a great honour to pen a foreword for this remarkable book celebrating the life, accomplishments and enduring legacy of Judge Hisashi Owada, former President of the International Court of Justice.
As the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, the Court comprises fifteen Judges elected by the General Assembly and Security Council with a view to ensuring representation of the principal legal systems of the World. Within the shared frame of reference of public international law, the geographic diversity of Members of the Court no doubt enriches our discussions and enhances both the quality and the authority of the Court’s pronouncements. But the bench of the International Court of Justice is also diverse in a number of other respects, notably in the professional backgrounds of its Members. Prior to their election to the Court, some Judges served as senior diplomats, others pursued careers as foreign ministry lawyers, still others came from academia or from the domestic or international judiciary.
President Owada’s professional background stands out because he brought such a range of experiences to the Court, to which he was first elected in 2003. He acted in multiple capacities at the Foreign Ministry of Japan, not only performing the role of legal adviser, but also serving as a senior diplomat, including Deputy Minister and Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs. His legacy includes participation in a phenomenal range of important diplomatic conferences such as the second and third United Nations conferences on the Law of the Sea and the United Nations Conference on the Law of Treaties. He also served as his country’s Permanent Representative to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and to the United Nations in New York. In parallel with his government service, Judge Owada never ceased his commitment to academia, publishing many works on international law and teaching in prestigious institutions both in Japan and abroad.
President Owada brought this wide-ranging experience to the World Court, where he would serve as a Judge for fifteen years. In 2009, he became the first Japanese Judge to be elected President of the International Court of Justice, successfully guiding the Court in its endeavour to respond to the many complex legal questions placed before it. He was serving in this capacity when I joined the Court the following year. I have vivid memories of President Owada’s skilful management of the Court’s deliberations, working with equal ease in English and in French. I quickly realized that the breadth of his prior experience afforded President Owada an integrated and comprehensive appreciation of the many delicate issues before the Court. Among his peers on the
The topics covered in this festschrift and the range of experts that contributed to it capture the multifaceted dimension of President Owada’s career and the extensiveness of his expertise and legacy. I trust that this publication will serve not only as a testament of the esteem and gratitude that he has commanded among his peers, colleagues and students, but also as a lasting source of inspiration for future generations of international lawyer.
Joan Donoghue
Judge and President of the International Court of Justice