Singapore will nominate its ambassador for international law Rena Lee for the 2026 International Court of Justice ( ICJ) election.
Since Singapore joined the UN in 1965, there has never been a single Singaporean chosen for the position of ICJ prosecutor.
Mrs. Lee, a part of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, has spent more than three decades working in various state positions.
These include jobs at the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Ministry of Defence and as the deputy executive of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore.
She “possesses significant expertise in a wide range of international law matters, including law of the sea, climate change, environmental law, international humanitarian law, and human rights law,” according to a joint press release from the Ministry of Law and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday ( October 14 ).
In 2023, Mrs. Lee was appointé as the ambassador for global laws. Before that, served as Singapore’s sea issues adviser and a Special Envoy of the secretary for international affairs.  ,
She also served as the leader of the UN’s Intergovernmental Conference on the Conservation and Responsible Use of Marine Biological Diversity in Regions Beyond National Jurisdiction ( BBNJ), where she presided over contentious discussions.
According to the ministries,” These negotiations properly led to the adoption of a landmark global deal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in June 2023.”
Additionally, from 2017 to 2022, Mrs. Lee was elected and served on the International Seabed Authority’s Legal and Technical Commission.