KENYA · PROFILE
Key Facts
- What is happening Phoebe Okowa, a Kenyan professor of international law, won a full nine-year judge’s seat on the UN’s top court.
- Why it matters Kenyan officials call her the first Kenyan on the International Court of Justice, which settles disputes between governments.
- The numbers She was elected on Tuesday 3 November 2026; her first, shorter term came from a November 2025 vote.
- Who is who Okowa teaches at Queen Mary University of London and is an advocate of Kenya’s High Court.
- What to watch Her full term runs from Saturday 6 February 2027 until February 2036, ending after nine years.
- What it means for you Her votes will help decide cases on borders, treaties and the laws of war that can touch US interests.
Phoebe Okowa is a Kenyan lawyer and professor who now sits on the world’s highest court for disputes between countries. This profile explains who she is, what the court does and what her election means.
The World Court in Plain English
The International Court of Justice, or ICJ, is the main UN court and sits in The Hague, in the Netherlands. Countries, not people, bring cases to it, and its 15 judges decide them by majority.
Each judge serves nine years and is meant to act independently of the government that put them forward. Okowa is the judge from Kenya, a country in East Africa.
Phoebe Okowa at a Glance
- Role: judge of the International Court of Justice since November 2025.
- Home country: Kenya; she is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya.
- Day job: Professor of Public International Law, Queen Mary University of London.
- Other posts: member of the UN International Law Commission and associate member of the Institut de droit international.
- New term: 6 February 2027 to February 2036, voted on 3 November 2026.
The latest vote is covered in the news report Kenya’s Phoebe Okowa Elected ICJ Judge. This page covers the person.
From Nairobi Law Student to International Lawyer
Kenyan accounts say Okowa took a first-class law degree at the University of Nairobi in 1987, a first for a woman there. She went on to Oxford, where she took the Bachelor of Civil Law and then a doctorate.
She was admitted as an advocate in Kenya in 1990. Her field is public international law, the rules that govern relations between countries.
She now teaches the subject at Queen Mary University of London. The court’s own page lists her as a professor there.
Her Work at the UN Law Commission
The International Law Commission is a UN body of 34 legal experts who draft rules on subjects such as state responsibility. Its members are elected by the General Assembly and serve as individuals, not as government envoys.
Kenya put Okowa forward for the commission in 2021, and the Assembly elected her that year. The ICJ’s own biography page still lists her as a member.
How She Reached the Court
In November 2025 the General Assembly and Security Council elected her to the ICJ, says the UN record of 12 November 2025. She filled the seat left by Somali judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, who resigned.
Kenyan officials presented her as the first Kenyan to sit on the court. That first term was due to end on 5 February 2027, so the 2026 vote filled the seat for a full term.
On Tuesday 3 November 2026 she won that full term, one of five seats filled at the UN that day. The UN record of that day confirms the five winners.
What One Judge Can and Cannot Do
Okowa is one of 15 votes, and every judge’s vote counts the same. Judges may write separate opinions to agree or disagree with the court’s reasoning.
Its judgments bind only the countries in a case, and it has no police to enforce them. Disputes over compliance can go to the UN Security Council, where the five permanent members hold a veto.
What It Means for US Readers
Americans will meet her name in rulings on maritime borders, treaty duties and the conduct of war. The United States stepped back from the court’s compulsory jurisdiction in 1985 but is still part of treaties that name the court.
Readers who follow sanctions, shipping or Middle East disputes should watch the court’s docket for such cases. This profile is analysis of a public career, not a forecast of how she will vote.
What Is Not Known
Sources give different birthplaces and dates for Okowa, so none is stated here. Local accounts also describe her first-class degree and her Law Commission seat as firsts, and those claims are reported, not confirmed.
Her exact vote totals on 3 November and the cases she will sit on are not confirmed. Whether she will take on a leadership role at the court is not known.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Phoebe Okowa?
She is a Kenyan professor of public international law at Queen Mary University of London. She has been a judge of the International Court of Justice since November 2025.
Is Phoebe Okowa the first Kenyan on the ICJ?
Kenyan officials present her as the first Kenyan to sit on the court. She joined in November 2025 and won a full term on 3 November 2026.
What does the International Court of Justice do?
It settles legal disputes between countries and gives advisory opinions when UN bodies ask. Its 15 judges sit in The Hague and serve nine-year terms.
Does a judge represent her home country?
No. Judges are meant to act independently, and the court’s statute bars two judges from sharing a nationality. Okowa votes as an individual jurist.
When does her new term begin?
Her full nine-year term starts on Saturday 6 February 2027 and runs until February 2036. Her first term, from the November 2025 vote, ends on 5 February 2027.
Sources: UN Meetings Coverage, GA/12727, 12 November 2025 and GA/12805, 3 November 2026; International Court of Justice, Statute of the Court and judges page; UN International Law Commission (all accessed 4 November 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief