The United Kingdom (UK) nomination to The International Law Commission (TILC), Professor Dapo Akande is gaining momentum as he now has five countries solidly behind him, reports ITREALMS.
ITREALMS gathered from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, highlighted the calibre of Professor Akande’s legal experience and expertise, this is the first time in ILC history that a candidate has been nominated by countries from four different United Nations (UN) regional groups.
This wide-ranging support, analysts said, demonstrates that Professor Akande is exceptionally well qualified to serve on this prestigious UN body.
Akande who has over 25 years of experience at top academic institutions and a prolific author, has strong links with the international legal community. Just as he is an internationally renowned expert in Public International Law, and currently teaches at the University of Oxford.
A founder of EJIL:TALK! Prof. Akande is a board member for several legal journals and scholarly societies around the world.
A renowned lawyer, Akande has advised countries from around the globe and has appeared before many of the world’s leading legal institutions, such as the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the International Criminal Court and the European Court of Human Rights.
Industry watchers, informed ITREALMS that Prof. Akande has a strong vision and if elected he has three main aims: to help the Commission solve contemporary problems of international law; to work closely with UN member states in identifying topics and developing solutions and; to ensure the highest standards of technical legal expertise.
Earlier, ITREALMS gathered that the UK Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, was quoted as saying that "The United Kingdom has always been a strong supporter of the International Law Commission and is proud of the contribution that British international lawyers have made to its work. I believe that Professor Akande is perfectly positioned to strengthen this contribution yet further.
In his reaction, the UK’s candidate to join the Commission, Professor Akande, described as a true honour to be nominated by the UK, Nigeria, Japan, Kenya and Slovenia for the International Law Commission.
"Throughout my career, I have championed and promoted internationalism. If elected, I will strive to make a meaningful contribution to international law and international cooperation," he said.
ITREALMS equally gathered that on Thursday, 10 June, this year, Prof. Akande took part in the event ‘Crimes Against Humanity: the legal framework and the work of the International Law Commission’ with Professor Charles Jalloh, Sierra Leone candidate for the ILC, and Professor Phoebe Okowa, nominated for the ILC by Kenya and UK.
However, ITREALMS gathered that Prof. Akande is the United Kingdom candidate for the International Law Commission for the term 2023 to 2027, and has also been nominated by Japan, Kenya, Nigeria and Slovenia.
ITREALMS recalled that each member of the International Law Commission may nominate up to four candidates, and the UK has also nominated Japan’s Professor Masahiko Asada and Kenya’s Professor Phoebe Okowa. The election will take place in November 2021.
Also, ITREALMS recollected that Prof. Akande is a British-Nigerian academic and lawyer. Akande is a Professor of Public International Law at the University of Oxford’s Blavatnik School of Government, a Fellow at Exeter College, Oxford and co-director of the Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict (ELAC). Akande was the first Black professor to be honoured with a portrait at St Peter’s College, Oxford. Akande is a founding editor of EJIL:Talk!, the scholarly blog of the European Journal of International Law.
In November 2020, Akande was nominated as the United Kingdom candidate for the International Law Commission of the United Nations based in Geneva, Switzerland, for the term 2023-2027.[4] In June 2021, it was announced that Akande had also been nominated by Japan, Kenya, Slovenia and Nigeria and is the first candidate to be nominated by countries from four United Nations regional groups in the history of the International Law Commission.
Akande graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly the University of Ife) in 1992. In 1993, he qualified as a barrister and solicitor from the Nigerian Law School. Akande was awarded a Master of Laws (LLM) from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1994, and was awarded a Master of Arts (MA) by resolution from the University of Oxford in 2004.
Since 2004, Akande has lectured in Public International Law at the University of Oxford. Prior to that, Akande taught law at Durham University (2000-2004), University of Nottingham (1998-2000), University of Cambridge (1996-1998) and at the London School of Economics and Political Science (1994-1998). Akande also held numerous international visiting professorships and lectureships.
In addition, ITREALMS gathered that Prof. Akande was nominated by four nations which must be some kind of record-breaking.
Remmy Nweke/DoP
No comments:
Post a Comment