Litigation at the International Court of Justice

Event Description: The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, responsible for adjudicating international legal disputes between States on a wide range of matters relating to human rights, maritime boundaries, diplomatic immunity, terrorism financing, territorial sovereignty, international aviation, and much more. Despite its role as the highest court of international law, very little is known about the process of litigation before the Court. This talk aims to provide a behind-the-scenes perspective of how litigation before the International Court of Justice works, its advantages and disadvantages, and the experience of representing sovereign States before the “Supreme Court” of international law.

Speaker: Peter Tzeng (Foley Hoag LLP) exclusively advises and represents countries (sovereign States) on matters of international law and international organizations. He regularly litigates cases before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), where he previously clerked. A recipient of the Diploma of The Hague Academy of International Law and a graduate of Yale Law School, he speaks all six official languages of the United Nations (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish) at varying levels of proficiency. He was also the author of the 2018 and 2021 Problems of the Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition.

Lunch will be provided.