Czepelak was elected for a five-year term in a secret ballot by the court’s administrative council, which brings together representatives from all 122 signatory states of the Hague Conventions.
He is the first non-Dutch national to head the panel in its 123-year history.
The two other candidates for the post had been nominated by the Netherlands and Mauritius.
Czepelak, 43, is a graduate of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, southern Poland. A prominent expert in international law, he specializes in international civil procedure.
He has served as Poland’s ambassador to the Netherlands since 2017.
The Permanent Court of Arbitration is the world’s oldest international tribunal, established by the Conventions for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes, concluded at the Hague in 1899 and 1907, during the two Hague Peace Conferences.
The court aims to facilitate arbitration and other forms of resolving disputes between states, private companies and international organizations.
(mk/gs)
Source: IAR, gov.pl