Fifteen judges and a Japanese President: the bench of the International Court of Justice

Background

Disputes between states keep reaching the World Court, so it is worth knowing who sits on it. The International Court of Justice has a bench of fifteen members, and the Court's own list of current members names all fifteen. Its President is Judge Iwasawa Yuji of Japan, who has held that office since 3 March 2025. The Court decides two kinds of matters. The first is contentious cases, which are legal disputes between states that the states themselves bring; only states may be parties, and the Court can take up a dispute only where the states have accepted its jurisdiction, whether by a special agreement, by a clause in a treaty or by matching declarations. The second is advisory proceedings, in which certain organs of the United Nations and some specialised agencies ask the Court a legal question. An advisory opinion is not binding.