Philippe Couvreur

Philippe Couvreur
Born	(1951-11-29) 29 November 1951 (age 73) Schaerbeek, Brussels, Belgium
Education	Université de Namur Université Catholique de Louvain King's College London Complutense University of Madrid
Occupation	Jurist
Known for	Registrar of the International Court of Justice (2000–2019)
Awards	Order of Isabella the Catholic (Commander by Number) Order of Civil Merit (Commander) Légion d'Honneur (Officer) Order of Leopold (Grand Officer)

Philippe Couvreur (born 29 November 1951) is a retired Belgian Jurist specialising in International law. ^[1] He served as the Registrar of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) from 2000 to 2019. Couvreur is fluent in French, Dutch, English, Spanish, and Italian. ^{[2] [3]}

Education

Couvreur received a classical education at Collège Jean XXIII in Brussels. He studied law at Notre-Dame de la Paix University in Namur and Université Catholique de Louvain. ^[4] He later pursued studies in International and European Law at King's College London, the Complutense University of Madrid, and again at the Université Catholique de Louvain. He also studied Thomism at the same university. ^[2]

Professional career

After working in the legal department of the European Commission, Couvreur joined the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1982. He served in various legal roles, including as Principal Legal Secretary (Head of the Legal Department). ^[5]

In February 2000, he was appointed Registrar of the ICJ, a position he held until his retirement on 1 July 2019. During his tenure, he was re-elected twice. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Academic career

Couvreur has taught European and international law at several universities and academic institutions:

• 1976−1982: Assistant professor at the European Studies Centre and the Faculty of Law, Université Catholique de Louvain.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1980−1982: Visiting professor teaching the Law of International Organizations at the University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1986−1996: Professor of the Law of Nations and Comparative Constitutional Law at HEC Saint-Louis, Brussels.^{[ citation needed ]}
• 1997−2017: Guest lecturer at the Université Catholique de Louvain, co-teaching courses on advanced international law and current issues in public international law.

Couvreur is a Corresponding Member of the Spanish Royal Academy of Moral and Political Sciences. He has received several honors, including:

• Commander by Number of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (Spain)
• Commander of the Order of Civil Merit (Spain)
• Officer of the Légion d'Honneur (France)
• Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold (Belgium)

Main publications

• La problématique de l’adhésion de l’Espagne aux Communautés Européennes, with E. Cerexhe, Centre d’Etudes Européennes of the Université Catholique de Louvain, June 1978.
• "L’épuisement des voies de recours internes et la Cour européenne des droits de l’homme: l’arrêt Van Oosterwijck du 6 novembre 1980", Revue belge de droit international, Vol. XVI, 1981, pp. 130–171.
• "Les Etats fédéraux dans les relations internationales: les organisations internationales", Revue belge de droit international, Vol. XVII, 1983, p.189–227.
• "A propos de l’effectivité de la Cour internationale de Justice dans le règlement pacifique des différends internationaux," African Yearbook of International Law, 1996, Vol. 4, pp. 103–134.
• "The Effectiveness of the International Court of Justice in the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes," in The International Court of Justice: Its Future Role after Fifty Years, A.S. Muller et al. (eds.), The Hague, Martinus Nijhof, 1997, pp. 83–116.
• "Développements récents concernant l’accès des organisations intergouvernementales à la procédure contentieuse devant la Cour internationale de Justice", in Liber amicorum Mohammed Bedjaoui, The Hague, Kluwer Law International, 1999, pp.293–323.
• "La contribution du Professeur Charles De Visscher à la justice internationale", European Journal of International Law, 1999, pp.905–938.
• "Le Greffier de la Cour internationale de Justice: statut et fonctions", Global Community: Yearbook of International Law and Jurisprudence, 2003, Vol. I, pp. 19–78.
• "The Registrar of the International Court of Justice: Status and Functioning", in The Legal Practice in International Law and European Community Law, Carlos Jiménez Piernas (ed.), Martinez Sijthof, 2007.
• "La jurisprudencia de la Corte Internacional de Justicia en materia de Derechos Humanos", in La eficacia del Derecho Internacional de los Derechos Humanos, Cursos de Derechos Humanos de Donostia-San Sebastian, Vol. XI, Juan Soroeta Liceras (ed.), Servicio editorial de la Universidad del País Vasco, 2011, pp. 123–147.
• "Notes sur le 'droit' colonial français dans la mise en œuvre du principe de l'uti possidetis juris par la Cour internationale de Justice", in L’Afrique et le droit international: Variations sur l’Organisation internationale / Africa and International Law: Reflections on the International Organization – Liber Amicorum Raymond Ranjeva, Maurice K. Kamga, and Makane Moïse Mbengue (eds.), Paris, Pedone, 2013, pp. 111–124.
• "Regards sur la Cour permanente de Justice internationale," in The Global Community: Yearbook of International Law and Jurisprudence, Global Trends: Law, Policy & Justice Essays in Honour of Professor Giuliana Ziccardi Capaldo, Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni et al. (eds.), New York, Oxford University Press USA, 2013, pp.1115.
• "Notes sur la Cour internationale de justice et la volonté des États", in Les limites du droit international : Essais en l’honneur de Joe Verhoeven, Pierre d’Argent, Béatrice Bonafé, Jean Combacau, (coord.), Bruylant, Brussels, 2015, pp.423–447.
• "The International Court of Justice," in The Contribution of International and Supranational Courts to the Rule of Law, Geert De Bare and Jan Wouters, (ds.), Leuven Centre for Global Governance Studies, Elgar Publishing, 2015, pp.85– 126.
• "La Ville libre de Dantzig devant la Cour permanente de Justice Internationale", in Contemporary Developments in International Law: Essays in Honour of Budislav Vukas, Rüdiger Wolfrum et al. (eds.), Brill/Nijhoff, Leiden/Boston, 2016, pp.3–25.
• "Privileges and Immunities of Members of the International Court of Justice, the Registrar and Officials of the Registry, and Other Persons Connected with the Business of the Court", in The Conventions on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations and its Specialized Agencies. A Commentary, August Reinisch (ed.), Oxford University Press, 2016, pp. 859–871.
• "Le 'droit colonial' dans le contentieux frontalier terrestre, à la lumière de la jurisprudence récente de la CIJ," in Droit des frontières internationales, Pierre d’Argent, Evelyne Lagrange, Stefan Oeter, (dr.), Pedone, Paris, 2016, pp.127– 144.
• "L’œuvre de la CIJ à la veille de son 70^e anniversaire. Son rôle dans la réalisation des buts et principes des Nations Unies," Romanian Journal of International Law, vol. 17 (2017), pp. 5.
• The International Court of Justice and the Effectiveness of International Law, Collected Courses of the Xiamen Academy of International Law, vol. 9, Brill/Martinus Nijhoff, Leiden, 2016, 271 p. ^[9]
• "Estoppel: synonyme pédant de la bonne foi", in Dictionnaire des idées reçues du droit international, Pedone, Paris, 2017, pp.221–228.
• "70 Years of the International Court of Justice: How Does It Remain Relevant in a Changing World?", Sophia Law Review, vol. 61 (2017), pp. 1–15.
• "Evidence before the International Court of Justice," in R. Kolodkin (ed.), Evidence before International Courts and Tribunals: Distinct Fora, Similar Approaches?, International and Comparative Law Research Center, Moscow, 2020.

References

1. "Lecture Series - Biography - Mr. Philippe Couvreur" (PDF). United Nations Office of Legal Affairs. 21 September 2011. p. 1. Retrieved 18 June 2025.
2. "Lecture Series - Biography - Mr. Philippe Couvreur" (PDF). United Nations Office of Legal Affairs. 21 September 2011. p. 2. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
3. "M. Philippe Couvreur – Biographie" (PDF) (in French). United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
4. "H.E. Philippe Couvreur". Groep Humane Wetenschappen KU Leuven. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
5. "The Registrar of the International Court of Justice, H.E. Mr. Philippe Couvreur, has decided to step down from his functions, with effect from 1 July 2019, after thirty-seven years of service to the Court" (PDF). www.icj-cij.org/. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2024.
6. "Mr. Philippe Couvreur re-elected Registrar of the International Court of Justice" (PDF). International Court of Justice. 3 February 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
7. "The Registrar". International Court of Justice. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
8. "The Registrar of the International Court of Justice, H.E. Mr. Philippe Couvreur, has decided to step down from his functions, with effect from 1 July 2019, after thirty-seven years of service to the Court" (PDF). International Court of Justice. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2022.
9. Belkahla, Mehdi (2017). "Book Review to: The International Court of Justice and the Effectiveness of International Law, by Philippe Couvreur". Revue Générale de Droit International Public. 121 (2): 541–543. hdl:21.11116/0000-0001-5E67-3.

External links

• UN Biography, Philippe Couvreur