Joan Donoghue, the former president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), has joined the chambers Twenty Essex in London as an arbitrator.

Her move to the leading commercial set was announced at its annual State of Play event yesterday (13 February), when she delivered opening remarks on the role and challenges of international courts. 

One of her last acts as ICJ president ahead of her retirement in February 2024 was to oversee an interim order in a case brought by South Africa alleging violations of the Genocide Convention by Israel in the Gaza war.

In April, she took the unusual step of “correcting” media reports that the court had found allegations of genocide to be plausible, telling the BBC that the court had decided the Palestinians had a “plausible right” to be protected from genocide and that South Africa had the right to present that claim in the court. 

Introducing her at yesterday’s event, Twenty Essex tenant Sir Daniel Bethlehem KCMG KC, the former legal adviser to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, described her as “one of the most accomplished and respected international law jurists today”.

Donoghue said: “I am honoured and excited by the opportunity to join Twenty Essex as an arbitrator. The settlement of disputes peacefully and by law is among the highest callings for international lawyers.”

She served as an ICJ judge from 2010 to 2024 and was president from 2021. She was the third woman elected to the ICJ and the first American woman elected as president of the court.

During her time at the ICJ, she also served on various investor-state tribunals and ICSID annulment committees and was a US designee to the ICSID Panel of Arbitrators from 2016 to 2024.

Welcoming her to the set, co-heads of chambers Philip Edey KC and Charles Kimmins KC said that they were “thrilled that she has elected to initiate this new chapter in her career as an arbitrator member of these chambers”.

Donoghue’s career includes nearly two decades at the US Department of State, culminating in her position as principal deputy legal adviser from 2007 to 2010. Before that she was deputy general counsel of the US Treasury Department and general counsel at Freddie Mac, a position she held from 2003 to 2005. 

Donoghue’s academic contributions are notable, with teaching positions at several law schools and within the United Nations training programme. 

She is currently a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and will serve as the Arthur Goodhart visiting professor at the University of Cambridge for 2025/26, following in the footsteps of Harold Koh, her replacement as the US’s representative on the ICJ.

Other arbitrators to join Twenty Essex in recent years include ICCA vice-president Audley Sheppard KC, who took up residence in June 2024, and Philippa Charles, who arrived in 2023. 

Two members of chambers – Angharad Parry and dual-qualified Indian advocate Nakul Dewan SA – were made KCs in January.