Hoffmann re-elected to international tribunal

SA's Judge Albert Hoffmann will serve for another nine years on the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. Image: ITLOS

The elections were held at the United Nations Headquarters, in New York, during the Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Since 2005, Hoffmann has been a judge of ITLOS, and in 2011 he became Vice-President of the Tribunal.

He obtained votes from 154 of 156 States present and voting and will serve on the Tribunal for a further period of nine years.

"The South African government was pleased to present the candidature of Judge Hoffmann in view of his extensive experience and expertise in international law generally and law of the sea in particular," the Department of International Relations and Cooperation said.

The ITLOS is an independent judicial body established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to adjudicate disputes arising out of the interpretation and application of the Convention of the Law of the Sea.

The Tribunal is composed of 21 judges elected from those candidates that have the highest reputation of fairness, integrity competence in the field of the Law of the Sea.

Judges are also representative of the principal legal systems of the world.