H.E. Mr. Philippe Couvreur, Registrar of the International Court of Justice, has notified the Court of his decision to step down from his functions with effect from 1 July 2019. After thirty-seven years of dedicated service to the Court, including nearly twenty years as Registrar, Mr. Couvreur, who has reached the age of 67, has expressed the wish to bring forward the close of his third term of office, to take a well-deserved rest and to consider new professional horizons. The Court respects this wish and extends its most sincere appreciation for the invaluable contribution made by Mr. Couvreur to the work and functioning of the institution.

Having joined the Court in 1982 as special assistant to the Registrar and Deputy-Registrar, Mr. Couvreur rose to the rank of Secretary, then First Secretary of the Court in the Department of Legal Matters, of which he became Principal Legal Secretary in 1995. He was elected Registrar of the Court on 10 February 2000, re-elected on 8 February 2007, and again on 3 February 2014 making him the longest-serving Registrar in the history of the Court. During his three mandates, he has exercised his duties with consummate professionalism, skilfully discharging the multiple and wide-ranging responsibilities attached to the role of Registrar in particular, in terms of providing judicial, diplomatic and administrative support to the Court. Since he joined the Court, Mr. Couvreur has actively participated in the handling of no less than 90 contentious cases and advisory opinions.