One of the Finest in our Region: Judge Tafsir Malick Ndiaye (Senegal) Goes Home

Today saw the painful announcement of the death of Judge Tafsir Malick Ndiaye. Judge Tafsir Malick Ndiaye was a Senegalese national who served on the Bench of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) from its inauguration in 1996 until 2020. For the 24 years that his lordship served on the Bench, he contributed immensely to the work of the Tribunal and indeed the nurturing of the jurisprudence of the law of the sea.
Judge Ndiaye was a Judge that was loyal to his learning and conviction. He was never a Judge that was willing to yield to the strength of the majority against his conviction. This is reflected in the cases in which he participated as a judge. What you find in arguably a majority of the cases is that Ndiaye was not a Judge to be easily swept by the flood of the majority. Where he disagreed, depending on the degree of his disagreement, he expressed his view in dissenting opinions (the M/V SAIGA (No.2),  the M/V Virginia G, THE Enrica Lexie Incident, etc); separate opinions (concerning Land Reclamation by Singapore in and Around the Straits of Johor, the JUNO Trader, Dispute concerning Delimitation of the Maritime Boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal, the M/V Louisa, The M/V Norstar, etc; or declarations (the Camouco, the Monte Confurco, etc).
He was thus a Judge that used the available tools to express his views and convictions, thus demonstrating that he either disagreed with the entire majority decision or an aspect of it. These could not but enrich the jurisprudence of the Tribunal and provide a more robust perspective of the issue at hand.  
There is no doubt that, given his the knowledge and experience, Judge Ndiaye is a reference point in matters relating to the law of the sea in our Community (ECOWAS). He will be truly missed!
Born on 7 February 1953, Judge Ndiaye received his Doctor of Law from the University of Paris. He was a lecturer at the University of Paris and at the University of Dakar as well as a visiting professor in several Universities. In addition, Judge Ndiaye acted as counsel and co-agent for the Government of Senegal in a number of international cases. Judge Ndiaye was a member of the Ethics Board of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) and the Panel of Eminent Persons of the African Union. He also authored many books, monographs, articles and papers in various fields of public international law, in particular the law of the sea, international environmental law, and international organizations and the law of integration.

Center for Community & Oceanic Law, March 8, 2024