Policy paper

Professor Dapo Akande, United Kingdom Candidate for the International Law Commission 2021

Published 26 February 2021

This was published under the 2019 to 2022 Johnson Conservative government

Foreword by Foreign Secretary

The United Kingdom is pleased to nominate Professor Dapo Akande as our candidate for the International Law Commission for the period 2023-2027. The UK 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.

With over twenty-five years of legal experience, Professor Akande is exceptionally well-qualified to serve as a member of the Commission. Not only is Professor Akande one of the finest legal scholars in the UK, he is also a world-renowned expert in public international law, as both an academic and independent practitioner. He originally qualified as a lawyer in Nigeria and is currently Professor of Public International Law at the Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford. He is on the advisory or editorial boards of international law periodicals in Europe, America, Africa and Asia. He has written and researched more than sixty publications across a range of international legal topics.

Professor Akande has acted as a consultant to international organisations, including the United Nations (UN), the African Union, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, the International Criminal Court, the Food and Agriculture Organisation, and the Commonwealth Secretariat. As Counsel or Adviser, Professor Akande has worked on international litigation before the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the World Trade Organisation, the International Criminal Court and the European Court of Human Rights, as well as on cases involving public international law in domestic courts. In this work, he has represented both Governments and individual claimants. Professor Akande has also provided training on international law to Governments across the world, demonstrating his commitment to promoting the highest standards in international law.

For all these reasons, I strongly endorse the candidature of Professor Akande at the elections for the International Law Commission that will be held during the 76th session of the UN General Assembly in November 2021. I hope that UN members have the opportunity to meet and engage with him, virtually or in-person, over the coming months. In doing so, I am sure that you will recognise the tremendous expertise, energy and rigour that Professor Akande would bring to the work of the Commission.

I am pleased to commend Professor Akande to all UN members as the UK candidate for this important role.

The Rt Hon Dominic Raab

Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and First Secretary of State

Introductory message from Professor Dapo Akande

I am delighted and honoured to be the UK candidate for the International Law Commission for the term 2023–27.

I have been fortunate to enjoy over twenty-five years as a legal academic and practitioner. I am currently Professor of Public International Law at the University of Oxford, and I have also taught international law in leading universities around the world. As a legal practitioner, I have advised numerous international organisations, including United Nations (UN) bodies, the African Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Commonwealth Secretariat, as well as many national governments. I have written or co-authored more than sixty publications on a wide range of international legal topics, including Oppenheim’s International Law: The United Nations. One of my career highlights was founding EJIL:Talk!, the popular blog of the European Journal of International Law.

I am seeking election to the Commission because I believe I can make a meaningful contribution to its work. My research and practice cover a broad range of areas of international law. I have a particular interest in developing the legal principles and institutions which support international cooperation, help to resolve international disputes, and ultimately, promote the well-being of the individual. My contribution to the Commission would draw significantly from my combination of extensive academic and practical experience in the United Kingdom and around the world.

Throughout my career, I have developed strong relationships with different parts of the international legal community and I would work in a spirit of collegiality and cooperation with other members of the Commission and the UN General Assembly’s Sixth (Legal) Committee. I am dedicated to upholding the highest standards in international law, and to the progressive development of the international legal system.

I have a strong vision for the role I would like to play in the International Law Commission. If elected, my main aim would be to safeguard the positive contribution of the Commission in resolving contemporary problems of international law. I would also work closely with UN member states in identifying topics for consideration and developing solutions. Finally, I would ensure that the Commission combines the highest standards of technical legal expertise with careful consideration of the needs of the international community as a whole.

I am proud of my track record of helping to explain the importance of international law to a wide variety of audiences, and contributing to its application. It would be a privilege to play a constructive role in the codification and progressive development of international law by contributing to the Commission’s essential work of clarifying the rules on which international cooperation is based, and which help to promote a just and peaceful system of international relations.

Thank you for your support.

Professor Dapo Akande

Professor Dapo Akande Curriculum Vitae

Selected Academic Experience

Date	Role
University of Oxford
2014 - date	University of Oxford: Professor of Public International Law, Blavatnik School of Government
2009 - date	Co-Director, Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed Conflict
2004 - date	Fellow at St Peter’s College, then Exeter College, Oxford
Previously:
2004- 2014	University Lecturer in Public International Law, then Associate Professor
2013 - 2017	Co-Director, Oxford Martin Programme on Human Rights for Future Generations
2007- 2010	Co-Director, Oxford University/George Washington University Summer School on Human Rights Law
Visiting Professorships
2018	University of Vienna
2014 - 2018	Católica Global School of Law, Lisbon
2015	Sir Ninian Stephen Visiting Scholar, University of Melbourne Law School
2000 - 2009	University of Miami School of Law
2008 - 2009	Yale Law School (2008-09)
Visiting Lectureships
2011 - date	United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
2018 - date	United Nations Regional Courses on International Law
2018 - 2020	Seoul Academy of International Law (Korean National Diplomatic Academy)
2015	Director, Nuremberg Summer Academy
Lecturer in Law
2000 - 2004	University of Durham
1998-2000	University of Nottingham
1996-1998	Supervisor in International Law, Christ College & Wolfson College, University of Cambridge
1994-1998	Class Teacher and Research Assistant, London School of Economics and Political Science

Advisory Work for International Organisations and Governments

Date	Role
United nations
2017	Joint Opinion for United Nations Resident Coordinator in the State of Palestine (UNRC)
2013 - 2016	Consultant, UN Office of the Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on law relating to humanitarian relief operations in armed conflict situations
2014	Adviser, UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions for report to UN General Assembly on “Drones, Right to Life, Targeted Killings”
African Union
2018 - 2019	Member, Technical Working Group, Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice on Immunity of Heads of States
2013	Consultant, Advisory Opinion from the International Court of Justice on Immunity of Heads of States
2009	Consultant, Review of the Statute of the International Criminal Court
2005 to 2006	Consultant, African Comprehensive Anti-Terrorism Model Law
Other International Organisations:
2020	Joint Opinion for Secretary General, Organization of American States on an issue before the International Criminal Court
2019	Adviser to United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization on questions concerning the law of international organizations
2015 to 2016	Member, International Group of Experts, NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, Tallinn Manual on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations
2013	Consultant, Commonwealth Secretariat, Handbook on International Humanitarian Law
2011	Member, Expert Working Group on the review of the Commonwealth’s Model Law on the Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
National Governments
2020 - date	Adviser, Government of Japan, international law issues
2019	International Law Expert, New Zealand Public Inquiry into Operation Burnham, dealing with conduct of New Zealand Defence Forces in Afghanistan
2015 to 2018	Adviser, UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Drones, Inquiry into the UK’s collaboration with Partners in the use of armed drones
2015	Consultant to Philippines Ministry of Foreign Affairs (on behalf of ASEAN/China Joint Working Group on Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Seas) on “The Concept of the Threat or Use of Force in International Law”
2013	Adviser to Government of Botswana on drafting legislation to implement obligations under the Statute of the International Criminal Court
2010	Adviser to a Middle Eastern state on implementation of sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council on Iran

International Tribunals

Date	Role
International Court of Justice
2018 - date	Counsel and Advocate for Uganda, Armed Activities Case (Democratic Republic of Congo v. Uganda) Reparations Phase
2018	Counsel and Advocate for Zambia, Chagos Islands Advisory Opinion
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
2019 - date	Counsel and Advocate for Nigeria, The M/T “San Padre Pio” Case (Switzerland v. Nigeria) No. 2,
2019	The M/T “San Padre Pio” Case (Switzerland v. Nigeria), Provisional Measures
International Criminal Court
2019	Confidential advice to the Office of the Prosecutor on international law arguments to be put to the Court
2020 - date	International law expert for Defence Counsel, The Prosecutor v. Al Hassan Ag Abdoul Aziz Ag Mohamed Ag Mahmoud
European Court of Human Rights
2021	Counsel and Advocate for applicant, Hanan vs. Germany
2016	Adviser to the applicants, Sydorenko v Ukraine and Russia; Obukhivskyy v Ukraine and Russia; Vakhovskyi v Ukraine and Russia
International Trade Tribunals
2020 - date	Adviser to an Asian State, World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Panels
Arbitral Tribunals
2007	Expert, instructed by claimants: Enron Nigeria Power Holding Ltd (Cayman Islands) v Lagos State Government Nigeria; and Power Holding Company of Nigeria & Federal Republic of Nigeria Case No. 14 417/EBS/VRO International Chamber of Commerce Arbitration in London
Other
1994 - 2000	Assistant to Counsel in several cases before the International Court of Justice, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, North American Free Trade Agreement and World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Panels

National courts

Date	Role
1998 - present	engaged as Adviser, Expert or Assistant in several cases before national courts and tribunals in England, the United States, New Zealand and Pakistan
2020 - date	Member, Essex Court Chambers

Selected training for Government officials

Date	Role
2004 - date	Coordinator (to 2017) and Tutor, UK Royal Navy, Oxford Training Programme in International Law for Military Lawyers
2020	Co-Chair, Executive Education Programme on Military Judgment and Leadership
2016-2020	Lecturer, Nigerian Office of the Federal Director of Public Prosecution/Nigerian Army, capacity building workshops on strengthening justice and accountability in Nigeria
2005, 2007, 2012	Lecturer, Asia-Pacific Region government officials, the implementation of the Statute of the International Criminal Court
2010	Organiser, Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, intensive training session for new head of Legal Department
2005	Trainer, Sudanese Government, training of senior Sudanese government officials and judges in international humanitarian law

Books

• Oxford Guide to International Humanitarian Law, Saul & Akande (eds., 2020)
• Human Rights and 21st Century Challenges: Poverty, Conflict and the Environment, Akande, Kuosmanen, McDermott & Roser (eds., 2020)
• Oppenheim’s International Law: The United Nations, with Higgins, Webb, Sivakumaran & Sloan (2017)
• Tallinn Manual 2.0 on the International Law Applicable to Cyber Operations, Member of International Group of Experts authoring the work (2017)
• Practitioner’s Guide to Human Rights in Armed Conflict, Consultant Editor with Murray, Garraway, Hampson, Lubell & Wilmshurst (2016)
• Oxford Companion to International Criminal Law and Justice, Editor with Cassese et al (2009)

Selected book chapters and journal articles

• “Conflict-induced Food Insecurity and the War Crime of Starvation of Civilians as a Method of Warfare: The Underlying Rules of International Humanitarian Law”, (2019) Journal of International Criminal Justice (with E-C. Gillard)
• “Treaty Law and ICC Jurisdiction over the Crime of Aggression”, (2018) 29 European Journal of International Law p. 939 (with A. Tzanakopoulos)
• “International Organizations” in Evans (ed.) International Law (2018)
• “Arbitrary Withholding of Consent to Humanitarian Relief Operations in Armed Conflict”, (2016) 92 International Law Studies p. 483 (with E-C. Gillard)
• “The International Law Framework Regulating the Use of Armed Drones” (2016) 65 Int. & Comp. Law Q p. 791 (with C. Heyns, L. Hill-Cawthorne & T. Chengata)
• “Selection of the International Court of Justice as a Forum for Contentious and Advisory Proceedings (Including Jurisdiction)” (2016) 7 Journal of International Dispute Settlement p. 320
• “Clarifying Necessity, Imminence, and Proportionality in the Law of Self-Defense” (2013) 107 American Journal of International Law pp. 563-570 (with T. Lieflaender)
• “Immunities, International Crimes and Foreign Domestic Courts”, (2010) 21 European Journal of International Law pp. 815-852 (with S. Shah)
• “International Law Immunities and the International Criminal Court”, (2004) 98 American Journal of International Law pp. 407-433
• “The Jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court over Nationals of Non-Parties: Legal Basis and Limits”, (2003) 1 Journal of International Criminal Justice pp. 618-650
• “The International Court of Justice and the Security Council: Is there Room for Judicial Control of Decisions of the Political Organs of the United Nations”, (1997) 46 International and Comparative Law Quarterly pp. 309-343
• “The Role of the International Court of Justice in the Maintenance of International Peace”, (1996) 8 African Journal of International and Comparative Law, pp. 592-616

Selected Membership of Academic Boards, Journals and Scholarly Organisations

Date	Membership
2017 - date	Trustee, British Institute of International and Comparative Law
2013 - date	Editorial Board Member, American Journal of International Law
2015 - date	Advisory Board Member, Israel Law Review
2015 - date	Editorial Board Member, Nigerian Yearbook of International Law
2015 - date	Advisory Board Member, Ethiopian Yearbook of International Law
2016 - date	Member, Africa Group for Justice and Accountability
2011 - date	Member, Advisory Board, International Centre for Transitional Justice
2010 - 2013	Member, Legal Advisory Board Protect Education in Insecurity and Conflict (Qatar)
2007 - 2017	Member, Scientific Advisory Board, then Editorial Board, European Journal of International Law
2007 - 2013	Member, Editorial Board, African Journal of International and Comparative Law (2007-2013)

Education

• University of Oxford, MA (2004, awarded by resolution)
• London School of Economics and Political Science, LLM (1994)
• Nigerian Law School, qualified as a Barrister and Solicitor (1993)
• University of Ife (Nigeria), LLB (1992)