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Judge Shunji Yanai

Member of the Tribunal since 1 October 2005; re-elected as from 1 October 2014; President of the Tribunal 2011-2014; Member of the Special Chamber formed to deal with the Dispute concerning delimitation of the maritime boundary between Mauritius and Maldives in the Indian Ocean (Mauritius/Maldives)

Born: Tokyo, Japan, 15 January 1937.

Education: LL.B. Faculty of Law, University of Tokyo (1961).

Professional Experience: Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1961–2002): Director, International Conventions Division (1976–1977), Director, Legal Affairs Division (1977–1978), Director, Treaties Division (1978–1981), Counsellor-Minister, Japanese Embassy, Republic of Korea (1981–1984), Deputy Director-General, Asian Affairs Bureau (1984–1987), Deputy Director-General, Treaties Bureau (1987), Consul General of Japan, San Francisco (1987–1990), Director-General, Treaties Bureau (1990–1992), Executive Secretary, International Peace Cooperation Headquarters, Prime Minister’s Office (1992–1993), Director-General, Foreign Policy Bureau (1993–1995), Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs (1995–1997), Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs (1997–1999), Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Japanese Embassy, United States of America (1999–2001); Professor of International Law, Chuo University, Tokyo (2002–2007); Visiting Professor of International Law, Waseda University, Tokyo (2002–2007); Senior Advisor to the Rector, United Nations University (2003–2007); Director, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (2003–2012); Director, Proudfoot Japan Inc. (2007–2011); Director, Nifco Ltd. (2010–2014); Chairman, Advisory Panel for the Prime Minister on Reconstruction of the Legal Basis for Security, Japan (2007–2014); Professor, Waseda University, Tokyo (2007–present); Advisor, Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, Inc. (2008–present); President, International Law Association (Japan Branch) (2009–present); Director, Japan Investment Advisor Ltd. (2016–present).

Member: Vienna Conference on the Law of Treaties (1968–1969); UN Conference on Trade and Development (1972); UN General Assembly Sessions (First, Second and Sixth Committees, 1972–1974, 1976, 1991, 1993–1996); UN Outer Space Committee and Legal Sub-committee Sessions (1973–1974); Third UN Conference on the Law of the Sea (1973–1978); Drafting Committee of the Law of the Territorial Sea (1977); fisheries negotiations with Indonesia, the Soviet Union and the Republic of Korea (1978–1980); Japan Korea Joint Committee on the Continental Shelf (1985); APEC (1995); ASEAN Regional Forum (1995–1996); ASEM (1995–1996); Political Directors Meeting of G7/G8 Summit (1996–1997).

Publications: Author of numerous articles, including “Japan and the Emerging Order of the Sea: Two Maritime Laws of Japan”, Japanese Annual of International Law, 1978; “Presentation Made at the Trade Bill Conference, Brigham Young Law School”, Brigham Young University Law Review, 1989; “Law Concerning Cooperation for United Nations Peace-keeping Operations and Other Operations: the Japanese PKO Experience”, Japanese Annual of International Law, 1993; “Japan’s Legal Framework for Peace-keeping Operations and International Humanitarian Relief Operations”, Japan-US-Canada Trilateral Perspectives on International Legal Issues, 1996; “Remembering and Forgetting: The U.S. Role in the Asia Pacific at the Turn of the Century”, The CSIS Press, 2001; “Evolution of Japan’s Peace-keeping Operations”, United Nations’ Contributions to the Prevention and Settlement of Conflicts – Series of the Institute of Comparative Law in Japan, 2003; “La coopération régionale contre la piraterie en Asie”, Annuaire français de droit international, 2006; “Drastic Changes in Japan’s Diplomacy” (in Japanese), The Asahi Shinbun, 2007; “Japan’s Contribution to International Peace and its Political and Legal Background”, in: Coexistence, Cooperation and Solidarity: Liber Amicorum Rüdiger Wolfrum, Holger P. Hestermeyer, Doris König, Nele Matz-Lück et al. (eds), Martinus Nijhoff, Leiden, 2011; “Japan and the United States in Changing Asia: Challenge and Perspective”, Waseda University, 2012; “International Law concerning Maritime Boundary Delimitation”, in: The IMLI Manual on International Maritime Law, Vol. I, Oxford, 2014; “Can UNCLOS address the challenges of the 21st Century?”, German Yearbook of International Law, 2015; “New Peace and Security Legislation of Japan: Significance and Challenge” (in Japanese), in: The JIIA International Affairs, No. 648, 2016.