Bernardo Sepúlveda Amor

Bernardo Sepúlveda Amor
portrait, from shoulders up, of a man sitting on a podium. Bernardo Sepúlveda Amor
Vice President of the International Court of Justice
In office 6 February 2012 – 6 February 2015
President	Peter Tomka
Preceded by	Peter Tomka
Succeeded by	Abdulqawi Yusuf
Judge of the International Court of Justice
In office 6 February 2006 – 6 February 2015
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
In office 1 December 1982 – 30 November 1988
President	Miguel de la Madrid
Preceded by	Jorge Castañeda
Succeeded by	Fernando Solana
Ambassador of Mexico to the United States
In office 16 March 1982 – 30 November 1982
President	José López Portillo
Preceded by	Hugo B. Margáin
Succeeded by	Jorge Espinoza de los Reyes
Personal details
Born	(1941-12-14) 14 December 1941 Mexico City
Nationality	Mexican
Political party	Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)
Alma mater	National Autonomous University Queens' College, Cambridge
Profession	Diplomat

Bernardo Sepúlveda Amor (born (1941-12-14)14 December 1941) is a Mexican diplomat and jurist. He was Secretary of Foreign Affairs during the 1980s under President Miguel de la Madrid and is a former judge of the International Court of Justice.

Biography

He was born in Mexico City, where he studied law at the National Autonomous University (UNAM, 1964). He then pursued post-graduate studies, specialising in international law at Queens' College, Cambridge in the United Kingdom (1966).

He is a professor of international law and international organisations at El Colegio de México and also teaches at the Matías Romero Institute. His other academic activities have seen him work at the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) and the UNAM.

From 16 March to 30 November 1982, he served as Ambassador to the United States of America and from 1989 to 1993, as Ambassador to the United Kingdom. Between those two diplomatic postings from December 1982 to 1988, he served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs under President Miguel de la Madrid. During his time in the Cabinet, he was instrumental in establishing the Contadora Group, which worked to bring peace to Central America, and in the creation of the Grupo de Ocho, since expanded to become the Rio Group.

In 1984 he was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for his international co-operation efforts. The following year, UNESCO awarded him its Simón Bolívar Prize.

In 1996 he was elected to serve on the United Nations International Law Commission; he was re-elected to the same position in 2001. On 7 November 2005 he was elected to a nine-year period as one of the judges of the International Court of Justice.

In 2012, Sepúlveda-Amor was elected by the judges of the ICJ to serve as its vice-president, for a three-year term beginning 6 February 2012.

Lectures

• The International Court of Justice and the Use of Force by States in the Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
• La Corte Internacional de Justicia y el uso de la fuerza por los Estados in the Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
• The Development of the International Court of Justice Jurisprudence in some key areas in the Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law

External links

• ICJ Biography of H.E. Judge Bernardo Sepulveda-Amor