Olufemi Elias has been elected as a member of the UN International Law Commission (ILC) during the commission’s 77th session in Geneva, Switzerland.
He secured the position after defeating candidates from Botswana and Ghana to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Kenya’s Phoebe Okowa.
The ILC, established by the United Nations in 1947, is responsible for developing and codifying international law on issues such as state responsibility, immunity, piracy, treaties, and dispute resolution.
Elias previously served as registrar of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT) and currently serves as a judge ad hoc at the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He has also held senior legal roles at the OPCW, World Bank Administrative Tribunal, and UN Compensation Commission.
Although Nigeria presented him as its candidate for the ICJ’s 2027–2036 term, he lost the election held in November 2025.
