Prof. Phoebe Okowa has secured a full nine-year term at the ICJ.
Kenya’s Prof. Phoebe Okowa secured a nine-year term after three candidates withdrew and Sierra Leone rallied behind her candidacy.
Kenya’s Prof. Phoebe Okowa has won re-election to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a full nine-year term. Her new mandate begins on February 6, 2027, and runs to 2036.
Okowa defeated Peru’s Luz del Carmen Ibáñez Carranza in the third round of voting at the United Nations. She secured 13 votes in the 15-member Security Council, while her Peruvian rival received none.
The result ended a prolonged contest for the remaining seat after earlier ballots failed to produce a winner.
Okowa wins re-election after candidates withdraw
Three candidates withdrew before the final ballot, leaving Okowa and Ibáñez Carranza in the race. They were Sierra Leone’s Prof. Charles Chernor Jalloh, Ecuador’s Marcelo Vázquez-Bermúdez and South Korea’s Jin-Hyun Paik.
Sierra Leone also announced its support for Okowa, citing the need to protect Africa’s representation on the court. Its UN envoy warned that a divided African vote could cost the continent the available seat.
The envoy said Sierra Leone had placed continental representation above its own candidate’s ambitions. He also praised Okowa’s legal scholarship, experience before the court and commitment to international law.
In addition, he highlighted her distinction as the first African woman elected to the United Nations International Law Commission. He cited her service on the court as further evidence of her credentials.
Voting thresholds and the new term
In the second round, Okowa received 87 votes in the General Assembly and four in the Security Council. Both totals fell below the majorities required for election.
Under the ICJ Statute, candidates must secure an absolute majority in each UN organ. That means at least 97 votes in the 193-member General Assembly and eight in the Security Council.
Four other candidates had already cleared both thresholds: Britain’s Dapo Akande, France’s François Alabrune, Jordan’s Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud and Singapore’s Rena Lee.
Okowa first won election to the court in November 2025 after Somalia’s Judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf resigned. Her current mandate ends on February 5, 2027, with the new term starting the following day.
Based in The Hague, the ICJ is the UN’s principal judicial organ. It settles legal disputes between states and gives advisory opinions to authorised UN bodies and agencies.
However, its 15 judges serve independently rather than as representatives of their countries.
