Rena Lee becomes first S’porean elected as ICJ judge

With her successful election, Ambassador for International Law Rena Lee will serve a nine-year term on the ICJ from 2027 to 2036.

Published Nov 04, 2026, 12:55 AM

Updated Nov 04, 2026, 12:55 AM

Ambassador for International Law Rena Lee has won election to the International Court of Justice, becoming the first Singaporean to join the world court's bench.

She will serve a nine-year term from 2027 to 2036, and Singapore said her election supports the rules-based multilateral system.

Lee brings over 30 years of international law experience, including having led the high seas treaty talks and serving in key legal roles in Singapore and global courts.

SINGAPORE - Ambassador for International Law Rena Lee has become the first Singaporean to join the bench of the world’s top court.

Lee, 57, was elected to the International Court of Justice on Nov 3 after she secured an absolute majority of votes in both the 193-member UN General Assembly and 15-member UN Security Council.

The polls, for five seats on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) , took place overnight at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Lee is only the second candidate from Southeast Asia to be elected into the world court based in the Hague, Netherlands, since its founding in 1945.

The last Southeast Asian to serve on the bench of the ICJ was Judge César Bengzon of the Philippines, whose term ended in 1976, more than five decades ago.

With her successful election, she will serve a nine-year term on the ICJ from 2027 to 2036.

The ICJ plays a critical role in helping states resolve disputes through international law. The principal judicial organ of the UN, it holds elections every three years to fill five seats on its 15-judge panel.

In this election, Lee was one of 10 candidates, with the others from the United Kingdom, France, Nigeria, Jordan, Peru, Sierra Leone, Kenya, South Korea, Ecuador.

Judges were elected by secret ballot in simultaneous meetings of the General Assembly and Security Council, and had to obtain at least 97 and 8 votes in the respective bodies to win.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan and Minister for Law Edwin Tong were both in New York in support of Lee’s candidature.

Balakrishnan said that Lee’s candidature is a concrete way that Singapore is contributing to upholding the rules-based multilateral system.

“As a small state, Singapore has always been a stalwart advocate and defender of the rule of law, which underpins the international rules-based system,” he said in a statement on Nov 3.

“We have been a beneficiary of this system since our independence. It is precisely at a time when multilateral institutions are under growing strain that we must do our part to support and strengthen them.”

Tong, meanwhile, emphasised the court’s value as a universal institution, adding: “Its strength is enhanced when its bench draws on varied legal traditions, professional experiences and perspectives, with each judge exercising independent judgment.”

An international law practitioner with over three decades of experience, Lee has expertise in areas such as the law of the sea, environmental law, international humanitarian law, and human rights law, among others.

She was president of the UN Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) from 2018 until 2023, during which she successfully steered complex, high stakes negotiations which culminated in the adoption of the landmark high seas treaty .

The treaty, known as the BBNJ agreement, establishes a legally binding framework to protect marine life and regulate commercial activities in international waters.

She also holds positions in the Permanent Court of Arbitration and the Panel of Conciliators of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

As a government lawyer, she has also previously held stints at the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Ministry of Defence, and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, where she was chief executive.

The ICJ was established by the founding charter of the United Nations in 1945 as the principal judicial organ of the international body, and marked the 80th anniversary of its inaugural sitting this year.

Over the decades, it has heard cases on sovereignty, maritime and territorial boundaries as well as human rights violations, among other issues, from across the globe.

Landmark decisions in recent years include a unanimous opinion in July 2025 that governments are responsible under international law for harms inflicted by their carbon emissions on the planet and vulnerable nations.

This is regardless of whether the polluting country is a party to climate treaties, such as the Paris Agreement.

Singapore has been involved in a case before the court, in a territorial dispute with Malaysia over Pedra Branca. Both countries mutually agreed to bring the case to the ICJ.

In 2008, the court awarded sovereignty of Pedra Branca to Singapore and Middle Rocks to Malaysia. It also ruled that sovereignty over South Ledge belongs to whoever owns the territorial waters it sits in.

Besides adjudicating legal disputes, the court also issues advisory opinions on legal questions submitted by other UN organs and and specialised agencies.

ICJ/International Court of Justice

国际法大使雷娜·李成功当选，将于 2027 年至 2036 年在国际法院任职九年。

发布于 2026 年 11 月 4 日凌晨 12:55

更新于2026年11月4日凌晨12:55

国际法大使李丽娜当选为国际法院法官，成为首位加入该国际法院的新加坡人。

她将从 2027 年到 2036 年任职九年，新加坡表示，她的当选支持了以规则为基础的多边体系。

李先生拥有超过 30 年的国际法经验，曾领导公海条约谈判，并在新加坡和全球法院担任重要法律职务。

新加坡——国际法大使雷娜·李成为首位加入世界最高法院法官席位的新加坡人。

现年 57 岁的李于 11 月 3 日当选为国际法院法官，此前她在拥有 193 个成员国的联合国大会和拥有 15 个成员国的联合国安全理事会中均获得了绝对多数票。

国际法院（ICJ）五个席位的选举在纽约联合国总部连夜进行。

自 1945 年国际法院成立以来，李光耀是第二位当选为该法院（位于荷兰海牙）法官的东南亚候选人。

最后一位在国际法院任职的东南亚法官是菲律宾的塞萨尔·本松法官，他的任期于 1976 年结束，距今已超过五十年。

成功当选后，她将于 2027 年至 2036 年在国际法院任职九年。

国际法院在帮助各国运用国际法解决争端方面发挥着至关重要的作用。作为联合国的主要司法机构，国际法院每三年举行一次选举，以填补其15名法官组成的合议庭中的五个席位。

在这次选举中，李是 10 位候选人之一，其他候选人分别来自英国、法国、尼日利亚、约旦、秘鲁、塞拉利昂、肯尼亚、韩国和厄瓜多尔。

法官由大会和安全理事会同时召开会议，以无记名投票方式选举产生，必须在两个机构中分别获得至少 97 票和 8 票才能当选。

外交部长维文·巴拉克里希南和律政部长唐振辉当时都在纽约，支持李显龙的候选资格。

巴拉克里希南表示，李光耀的候选资格是新加坡为维护以规则为基础的多边体系做出贡献的具体方式。

“作为一个小国，新加坡一直是法治的坚定倡导者和捍卫者，而法治正是国际规则体系的基础，”他在11月3日的一份声明中说。

“自独立以来，我们一直是这一体系的受益者。正值多边机构面临日益增长的压力之际，我们更应该尽自己的一份力量来支持和加强它们。”

与此同时，童强调了法院作为普世机构的价值，并补充道：“当法官们汲取不同的法律传统、专业经验和视角，并且每位法官都行使独立判断时，法院的力量就会增强。”

李是一位拥有三十多年经验的国际法从业者，在海洋法、环境法、国际人道主义法和人权法等领域拥有专业知识。

从 2018 年到 2023 年，她担任联合国国家管辖范围以外区域海洋生物多样性政府间会议（BBNJ）主席，在此期间，她成功地引导了复杂且高风险的谈判，最终促成了具有里程碑意义的公海条约的通过。

该条约，即《大洋洲边界和边界协定》，建立了一个具有法律约束力的框架，以保护海洋生物并规范国际水域的商业活动。

她还在常设仲裁法院和国际投资争端解决中心调解员小组中担任职务。

作为一名政府律师，她此前还曾在总检察署、国防部和新加坡知识产权局任职，并在知识产权局担任首席执行官。

国际法院是根据联合国1945年创始宪章设立的，是该国际机构的主要司法机关，今年是其首次会议召开80周年。

几十年来，该法院审理了来自世界各地有关主权、海洋和领土边界以及侵犯人权等问题的案件。

近年来具有里程碑意义的决定包括 2025 年 7 月的一项一致意见，即根据国际法，各国政府应对其碳排放对地球和脆弱国家造成的损害负责。

无论污染国是否是气候条约（例如《巴黎协定》）的缔约方，情况都是如此。

新加坡卷入了一起与马来西亚就白礁岛（Pedra Branca）领土争端的案件。两国均同意将此案提交国际法院。

2008年，法院裁定白礁岛主权归新加坡所有，中礁岛主权归马来西亚所有。法院还裁定，南礁岛的主权归其所在领海的拥有者所有。

除了裁决法律纠纷外，该法院还就其他联合国机构和专门机构提交的法律问题发表咨询意见。

国际法院