Hamburg: India's Bimal Patel has officially taken over as judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). He took the oath of office on Thursday at the tribunal's headquarters in Hamburg, Germany. With this his nine-year tenure began.
Bimal Patel is an expert in international law.
Bimal Patel is an expert with vast experience in the field of international law. He has previously been a member of the United Nations International Law Commission. Apart from this, he has also been the Vice Chancellor of Gujarat-based National Defense University (Rashtriya Raksha University).
Last year, member states of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) elected him as a judge of ITLOS. In the elections held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Patel got 115 votes out of 168 valid votes.
India's representation in ITLOS continues
India's representation in ITLOS will continue with Bimal Patel taking charge. Before him, Neeru Chadha had served as the Deputy Chairperson of the Tribunal. His tenure ended on Wednesday.
Along with Patel, four other judges elected last year also took oath. These include Ghana's Sylvia Ama Addusu, Brazil's Jorge Rodrigo Bandeira Galindo, Tunisia's Slim Laghmani and Vietnam's Lan-Anh Thi Nguyen.
What is ITLOS?
The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) is an independent judicial body based in Hamburg, Germany. Its main function is to settle maritime and oceanic disputes and interpret the provisions of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
ITLOS consists of a total of 21 judges, representing different geographical regions and whose terms expire at different times. UNCLOS has been accepted by 172 countries so far.
Educational and professional background of Bimal Patel
Bimal Patel holds a Doctorate degree in International Law from Leiden University in the Netherlands and Jaipur National University. He has also been a member of the National Security Advisory Board working under the National Security Council Secretariat. His joining ITLOS provides an opportunity to further India's participation in the international judicial forum related to the law of the sea.