Peter Tomka

Peter Tomka (born June 1, 1956 in Banská Bystrica ) is a Slovak lawyer and diplomat . From 1986 he held various positions for the Czechoslovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs and from 1993 for the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Among other things, he worked as ambassador and representative of Slovakia to the United Nations (UN) and in various UN bodies, including from 1999 to 2003 as a member of the International Law Commission . Since 2003 he has been a judge at the International Court of Justice . From 2009 to 2012 he held the office of Vice-President and from 2012 to 2015 he was President of the Court of Justice.

Life

Peter Tomka was born in Banská Bystrica in 1956 and studied law at the Charles University in Prague , where he obtained an LL.M. degree in 1979 and a Doctor iuris two years later . In 1985 he received his doctorate in the field of international law . After completing his studies, he worked at the Charles University from 1980 to 1984 as a lecturer and until 1991 as a lecturer in international law. In addition, he worked at the University of Kiev in 1982 , in 1984/1985 at the University of Nice , in 1985 at the Institute for International Law and International Relations in Thessaloniki and in 1988 at the Hague Academy for International Law . In 1998 and 1999 he taught at the Institute for International Relations at Comenius University in Bratislava .

From 1986 to 1991 he worked in the Czechoslovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including in 1990/1991 as head of the department for international law. From 1991 to 1992 he was legal advisor to the Permanent Mission of Czechoslovakia to the United Nations . From 1993 to 1994 he was Deputy Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the UN and from 1994 to 1997 acting permanent representative of Slovakia to the UN. In 1997 he moved to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of his home country, where he was director of the department for international law and from 1998 to 1999 he was director general for international legal and consular affairs. From 1999 to 2003 he again acted as permanent representative for Slovakia at the UN.

In addition, from the mid-1980s he worked several times as a delegate for Czechoslovakia and Slovakia, as well as chairman, vice-chairman and president of various UN committees and meetings of UN bodies and international conferences. From 1999 to 2003 he was a member of the International Law Commission of the United Nations, including in 2000 as second vice chairman of the commission and in 2001 as chairman of the committee for drafting contracts ( Drafting Committee ). Between 1993 and 2003 he represented Slovakia in a court case before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague . Since 2003 he has been Honorary President of the Slovak Society for International Law.

Peter Tomka has been a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration since 1994 . He has been a judge at the International Court of Justice since February 2003 , his term of office is running, after his re-election in November 2011, regularly until February 2021. In February 2009 he was elected Vice-President of the Court of Justice for three years, after which he served from February 2012 to February 2015 President.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Press release No. 2012/8 of the International Court of Justice of February 6, 2012 ( Memento of the original of February 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 68 kB) 

Web links

• International Court of Justice - Vice-President Peter Tomka biography on the ICJ website (English, with picture)