Xue Hanqin (; born 15 September 1955) is a Chinese jurist at the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

. On 29 June 2010, she was elected to fill the vacancy created by Shi Jiuyong's resignation on 28 May 2010. She is one of four female judges serving on the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Xue is the fifth Chinese judge at the ICJ, and the third representing the People's Republic of China (see

Judges of the International Court of Justice The first and second lists are of all the permanent judges of the International Court of Justice, the main judicial organ of the United Nations, first chronologically and then by seat. The third list is a list of judges appointed ''ad hoc'' by a p ...

). As Xue was re-elected to the Court in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, her term will expire on 5 February 2030. On the 6 February 2018, Xue was elected Vice President of the International Court of Justice for a three-year term.

Education

Xue Hanqin received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

Beijing Foreign Studies University Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU; ) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211 and the Double First-Class Construction. The Internation ...

in 1980 and a graduate diploma in

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

from

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

in 1982. She received a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

and a

Doctor of the Science of Law A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; ), or a Doctor of the Science of Law (JSD; ), is a research doctorate degree in law that is equivalent to a Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D. degree. In most countries, it is the most advanced law degree that can b ...

from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

in 1983 and 1995, respectively.

Career

From 1980 to 2003, Xue served in the Department of Treaty and Law of the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

of China, eventually rising to the position of

Director-General A director general, general director or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''general directors'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'') is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer ...

. She returned to Columbia Law School in 1991 and obtained a

Doctor of Juridical Science A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; ), or a Doctor of the Science of Law (JSD; ), is a research doctorate degree in law that is equivalent to a Ph.D. degree. In most countries, it is the most advanced law degree that can be earned. Australia ...

in 1995. Xue was appointed the Chinese ambassador to the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in 2003 and served until 2008. In December 2008, she became the first Chinese ambassador to the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 Sovereign state, states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its ...

. She was elected to the International Court of Justice in June 2010. Xue was sworn in as a member of the ICJ on 13 September 2010. She is currently a member of the Curatorium of The Hague Academy of International Law. On 6 February 2018, Xue was elected Vice President of the International Court of Justice for a three-year term. In 2019, she sided against the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in the

Chagos Archipelago sovereignty dispute Sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago was disputed between Mauritius and the United Kingdom. Mauritius has repeatedly claimed the Chagos Archipelago as part of its territory and that the British claim is a violation of United Nations resolution ...

. In November 2020, she was re-elected to the ICJ for another nine-year term. On 16 March 2022, along with Russian judge Kirill Gevorgian, Xue voted against the provisional order that called for the Russian Federation to suspend its invasion of Ukraine.

Lectures

''Transboundary Damage in International Law''
in th

* ttp://legal.un.org/avl/faculty/Xue.html ''国际法上的跨界损害问题''in th
Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law

in th

References

External links

International Court of Justice Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xue, Hanqin 1955 births Living people Beijing Foreign Studies University alumni Peking University alumni Columbia Law School alumni Ambassadors of China to the Netherlands Chinese women judges The Hague Academy of International Law people International Court of Justice judges People's Republic of China politicians from Shanghai Chinese women diplomats Chinese women ambassadors Chinese judges of United Nations courts and tribunals