news alert: Ambassador James Kateka re-elected as ITLOS Judge

Ambassador James Kateka has been re-elected as Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) at a meeting of States Parties to the Convention on the Law of the Sea which was held on Wednesday 11 June in New York. 

He will serve for nine more years at the Hamburg based Tribunal to which he was first elected as Judge in 2005.

Ambassador Kateka was elected together with the South African candidate. This is the first time in the 18 year history of the Tribunal for African candidates to be elected without opposition. Both candidates were endorsed by the African Union.

Judge James Kateka is an experienced international jurist. He is a member of the Institute of international law. He has served as Judge ad hoc of the International Court of Justice in the case of DRC v Uganda. He is an arbitrator in the inter-State arbitration between Mauritius and the United Kingdom and the case between Malta and Sao Tome & Principe. 

He was a member of the United Nations International Law Commission for ten years.

Judge Kateka served as Legal Adviser of the Tanzania Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 1983-1989.  He was Ambassador of Tanzania to the Federal Republic of Germany (1989-1994), Ambassador to the Russian Federation (1994-1998) and Ambassador to Sweden (1998-2005) where he became the Dean of the diplomatic corps (2003-2005). He was the Dean of Tanzania Ambassadors (2004-2005).

He has participated in many international conferences, including the Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1973-1982). Judge Kateka has written numerous articles for various legal publications. He has also given lectures on international law.

In 1993 after serving as Ambassador to the Holy See, he was awarded the Papal Honour of the Grand Cross with the Star of the Order of Pius IX by Pope John Paul the Second.

As the Permanent Mission of the United Republic of Tanzania  to the United Nations  he played a vital role in this regard. 

  Ambassador James Kateka  is seen  in  the picture some few minutes before the State Parties to the Convention on the  Law of the Sea, voted   to elect seven judges who will serve for the  nine yeas as judges of the International  Tribunal for the  law of the Sea (ITLOS)

  A section of the  members of the State Parties to the Convetion on the Law of the Sea at their meeting which also elected seven judges including Ambassador James  Kateka  who was among those re-elected to serve a second  term of nine years.

 Mr. Justin Kisoka,  from the  Permanent Mission  of the United  Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations voting through a secret ballot to elect seven  judges who will serve  as judges to ITLOS. sitting  behind Mr.  Kisoka is Ambassador Modest  Mero.

 Ambassador   James Kateka,  with, from left Mr. Shigela Joseph Malosha from  TPDC,    Ambassador Tuvako Manongi Permanent  Representative of the United  Republic of Tanzania to the United Nations,  Mr. George Kibayaka from TPDC and  Ambassador  Modest Mero, Tanzanian Ambassador to the UN Geneva Office.

Ambassador James Kateka with South African Candidate  who was also re-elected to serve a second term

 To read his full profile CLICK HERE