Judge Charlesworth is a current Judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) who is globally renowned for her academic work in international law. She has extensive international legal and academic experience working with a variety of legal systems, including in the Indo-Pacific region. As one of only five women elected as a permanent judge in the Court’s 77-year history, she brings valuable gender diversity to Court. She currently serves as a Judge of the Court following her election in November 2021 after the passing of the late Australian Judge James Crawford.
Prior to joining the ICJ, Judge Charlesworth was a Laureate Professor at the Melbourne University Law School, a Distinguished Professor at the Australian National University, and served as Judge ad hoc for the ICJ on two occasions, in the cases of Guyana v Venezuela and Australia v Japan. She is a graduate of both the University of Melbourne and Harvard Law School, from which she holds a doctorate of juridical science.
Judge Charlesworth’s award-winning research and publications span diverse areas, including the structure of the international legal system, peacebuilding, human rights and humanitarian law, as well as ground-breaking scholarship on gender and international law. She has published over 130 book chapters and articles, authored or co-authored 11 books on international law, and currently holds a number of editorial positions, including with the American Journal of International Law and the Asian Journal of International Law.