Candidacy of Professor Leonardo Nemer Caldeira Brant to the International Court of Justice

Brazil supports the candidacy of Professor Leonardo Nemer Caldeira Brant for judge for the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The vacancy is intended to complete, until 2027, the mandate of Judge Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade, who passed away last May. The election will take place on November 4th, simultaneously in the General Assembly and in the Security Council of the United Nations.

The ICJ, based in The Hague, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Comprised of 15 judges elected in a personal capacity for nine-year terms, the Court guarantees representation of the main world legal systems.

Brazil has a historic commitment, recognized by the international community, to the primacy of international law and the peaceful resolution of disputes. The Brazilian contribution to the Court is based on a long tradition of jurists who integrated it: José Philadelpho de Barros e Azevedo (1946-1951), Levi Fernandes Carneiro (1951-1955), José Sette-Camara (1979-1988), Francisco Rezek (1997-2006) and Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade (2009-2022).

Leonardo Nemer Caldeira Brant is Professor and Head of the Department of Public Law at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and founder of the Center for International Law (CEDIN) and the Brazilian Yearbook of International Law. He has a Master’s degree from UFMG and a Doctorate degree from Paris X Nanterre University and served as an assistant jurist at the ICJ. He has acted as visiting professor at the Institut des Hautes Études Internationales de la Université Panthéon-Assas Paris II, Université Caen Basse-Normandie, Université Paris-Ouest Nanterre la Défence and the Lauterpacht Center for International Law (University of Cambridge, United Kingdom).

With a career marked by dedication to the development and dissemination of the doctrine and jurisprudence of Public International Law, Professor Caldeira Brant presents the credentials to continue the legacy of the Brazilian judges who served the Court.