Bimal Patel elected judge of International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

Key facts

• Bimal N. Patel was elected as a judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) for the 2026-2035 term during the 36th Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from June 15 to June 19.
• Patel secured 115 votes out of 168 valid votes cast by member states.
• He will assume office on October 1, 2026, succeeding India's current representative Neeru Chadha, whose nine-year term concludes in September 2026.
• The newly elected judges for the 2026-2035 term represent India, Vietnam, Ghana, Tunisia, Russia, Brazil, and the Netherlands.
• Patel is currently a member of the International Law Commission, Vice-Chancellor of Rashtriya Raksha University, and a member of India's National Security Advisory Board.
• ITLOS is an independent judicial body established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), headquartered in Hamburg, comprising 21 independent judges.