She currently serves as a judge of the court after securing a decisive win in elections held in November 2021, following the death of Australian judge James Crawford. 

Judge Charlesworth is the first Australian woman elected to the court and only the fifth female permanent judge in the court’s 77-year history.

Judge Charlesworth is a graduate of the University of Melbourne, and she has a doctor of juridical science from Harvard Law School.

She is currently a member of the curatorium of the prestigious Hague Academy of International Law. 

Previously, she has been the Harrison Moore chair in law and laureate professor at Melbourne Law School and a distinguished professor at the Australian National University. 

She has been president of the Australian and New Zealand Society of International Law, as well as a member of the executive council of the Asian Society of International Law and the American Society of International Law.

The Australian National Group will formally nominate Judge Charlesworth as a candidate for the election when nominations open in early 2023. 

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The Australian National Group is an independent body of esteemed Australian jurists who serve as members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.

Judges are chosen for the International Court of Justice based on their qualifications, not their nationality, but no two judges can be from the same country. 

Effort is also taken to ensure that the principal legal systems of the world are reflected in the composition of the court. 

The election will take place at the United Nations headquarters in New York in late 2023.