Sang-Hyun Song

Judge Sang-Hyun Song of South Korea was among the first group of judges elected to the International Criminal Court (ICC) and has served in the ICC’s Appeals Division since March 11, 2003. Initially serving a three-year term as ICC judge, he was re-elected for a full nine-year term starting March 11, 2006. Judge Song was first elected president of the ICC by his fellow judges as of  March 11, 2009, and re-elected in 2012 for another three-year term. As president of the ICC, Judge Song is responsible for the proper administration of the Court, exercises specific judicial and legal functions as a member of the presidency which consists of the president and two vice-presidents, and represents the ICC in communication with States, international organizations and civil society. At the same time, he also continues to hear cases as a member of the ICC’s Appeals Chamber.

Judge Song has extensive practical and academic experience in the areas of court management, civil and criminal procedure, and the law of evidence, as well as relevant areas of international law, principally international humanitarian law and human rights law. For more than thirty years, he taught as a professor of law at Seoul National University, beginning in 1972. He has also held visiting professorships at a number of law schools, including Harvard, New York University, Melbourne, and Wellington. Judge Song started his legal career as a judge-advocate in the Korean army and later as a foreign attorney in a New York law firm. He has served as a member of the advisory committee to the Korean Supreme Court and the Ministry of Justice. As such, he led initiatives to reform the national litigation system and the criminal justice system.

Alongside his function in the ICC, Judge Song is the president of UNICEF/KOREA. He is also the respected author of several publications on relevant legal issues, and the recipient of the highest decoration of the Korean Government (MUNGUNGHWA, 2011).

Source: Information provided by the office of Judge Sang-Hyun Song, February 2012