Like Father Like Son; Dr Olufemi Elias Vies For International Court Of Justice Plum Office

Dr Olufemi Elias, the highly cerebral and renowned lawyer, Dr Olufemi Elias has joined the race for the judge of the international court of justice.

Olufemi Elias served as Registrar of the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals until 30 June 2020.

Dr Olufemi Elias’ nomination as Nigeria’s candidate for the ICJ in Nov 2019 is quite significant, especially because he is incredibly competent and easily the most accomplished Nigerian international lawyer alive today.

In 2015, he was elected in the 1st round of voting (an unusual feat) as a member of the Prestigious Institute de droit International, body reserved for elite international legal scholars. He is the second of only two Nigerians to have been elected since its establishment in 1873.

In 2018, He received the honorary life membership award of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) for his distinguished contributions & service in field of international law. ASIL is easily the most prominent international law association in the world.

He was UN Assistant Secretary General & Head of the UN’s IRMCT & was the highest ranking Nigerian lawyer at the UN. Before the end of his term at the UN he was also the second highest ranking Nigerian in the entire UN system (after Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed).

Elias has held several functions including being a Judge for Staff Appeals, Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL); Legal Adviser and Director, Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), The Hague; Executive Secretary (Registrar), World Bank Administrative Tribunal, Washington D.C.; Senior Legal Officer, OPCW; Special Assistant to the Executive Secretary, United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), Geneva and Legal Adviser, Governing Council Secretariat, UNCC.

Elias is a Visiting Professor at the Department of Law, Queen Mary University of London and has taught at the King’s College London and the University of Buckingham. He is also the author of several publications in the field of International Law and was awarded the Honorary Membership Award of the American Society of International Law (ASIL) in recognition of his contributions to international law.

He holds a BA (Jurisprudence) & MA from Oxford. Another LLM from Cambridge & a Ph.D from UCL. Accomplished international legal scholar and also a visiting professor in international law at Queen Mary University.

Brilliance, intelligence and predilection for great exploits run in the Elias family. The father of Olufemi, Judge Taslim Elias, was President & Judge at the ICJ (the World’s Court), Chief Justice of Nigeria, Attorney General of Nigeria & Dean of the Faculty of Law, UNILAG. He served in every role beyond the call of duty.

Justice Taslim Olawale Elias:

• 1st Attorney-General & Minister for Justice, FRN (1960 – 1966)

• Attorney-General & Commissioner for Justice, FRN (1966 – 1972)

• CJN (1972 – 1975)

• Judge, ICJ (1976 – 1991)

• Vice President, ICJ (1979 – 1982)

• President, ICJ (1982 – 1985)

Elias studied at Corona School, and then Igbobi College, Lagos, Nigeria before obtaining a law degree from the University of Oxford, a Master of Laws from the University of Cambridge and a doctorate from University College London. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1988.

We at EkoHotBlog are thrilled by the candidacy of Dr Olufemi as Nigeria’s Candidate for the ICJ because he has the pedigree and competence that are required for such position. We are rooting and drumming support for the thoroughbred Lagosian and we call on every man and woman of benevolence in Nigeria and indeed around the world to do so.