{{Short description|Indian jurist}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}} {{Use Indian English|date=August 2018}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Neeru Chadha | office = Judge of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea | honorific_prefix = Judge Dr. | term_start = 1 October 2017 | term_end = | birth_name = Neeru Chadha | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1955|03|27|df=y}}<ref name=":3" /> | native_name = {{IAST|Nīrū Caḍḍhā}} | birth_place = Delhi, India<ref name=":3" /> | image = | president = Vladimir Vladimirovich Golitsyn (2017)<br />Jin-Hyun Paik (2017{{ndash}}) | vice_president = Boualem Bouguetaia (2017)<br />David Joseph Attard (2017{{ndash}}) | alma_mater = University of Delhi (LLM and PhD)<br />University of Michigan Law School, University of Michigan (LLM) | nominator = India | appointer = Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea | occupation = Judge | profession = Jurist }} '''Neeru Chadha''' (born 27 March 1955; IAST: {{IAST|Nīrū Caḍḍhā}}) is an Indian jurist who serves as a member of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS). She previously served in the Indian government's external affairs ministry as an additional secretary and legal adviser, heading its legal and treaties division, among other positions.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/neeru-chadha-becomes-1st-indian-woman-as-member-of-itlos/article19053500.ece|title=Neeru Chadha becomes 1st Indian woman as member of ITLOS|date=2017-06-15|work=The Hindu|access-date=2019-03-06|agency=PTI|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.itlos.org/the-tribunal/members/judge-neeru-chadha/|title=www.itlos.org: Judge Neeru Chadha|website=www.itlos.org|access-date=2019-03-06|archive-date=27 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827075229/https://www.itlos.org/the-tribunal/members/judge-neeru-chadha/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Education == Chadha has master's degrees (LLM) in law from the University of Delhi and the University of Michigan Law School, and a doctorate (PhD) in law from the University of Delhi.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.itlos.org/the-tribunal/members/judge-neeru-chadha/|title=Judge Neeru Chadha|website=International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea|access-date=27 August 2018|archive-date=27 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827075229/https://www.itlos.org/the-tribunal/members/judge-neeru-chadha/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/neeru-chadha-first-indian-woman-elected-to-world-body-on-maritime-disputes/story-TofPIzwkEup4d3AnEaGYsI.html|title=Neeru Chadha first Indian woman elected to world body on maritime disputes|last=Raj|first=Yashwant|date=15 June 2017|work=Hindustan Times|access-date=27 August 2018|issn=0972-0243|oclc=231696742}}</ref>
== Career == Chadha served in various positions for the Government of India, including as an additional secretary and legal adviser (AS&LA) in the Ministry of External Affairs,<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/neeru-chadha-itlos-indian-government-982917-2017-06-15|title=Neeru Chadha is first Indian woman elected international sea law tribunal judge|date=15 June 2017|website=India Today|publisher=Aroon Purie|publication-place=United Nations|issn=0254-8399|access-date=27 August 2018|agency=Indo-Asian News Service}}</ref> a legal consultant to the Government of India,<ref name=":2" /> counsellor and legal adviser for India's permanent mission to the United Nations,<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2" /> and joint secretary and legal adviser (JS&LA) in the external affairs ministry's legal and treaties division.<ref name=":3" />
Chadha represented India in several international arbitration disputes, including serving as the Indian agent in ''Bay of Bengal Maritime Boundary Arbitration between Bangladesh and India'' case before the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) in The Hague,<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/neeru-chadha-becomes-1st-indian-woman-as-member-of-itlos/article19053500.ece|title=Neeru Chadha becomes 1st Indian woman as member of ITLOS|date=15 June 2017|work=The Hindu|access-date=28 August 2018|publisher=N. Ram|agency=Press Trust of India|publication-place=United Nations|issn=0971-751X|oclc=13119119}}</ref> as Indian agent for the ''Enrica Lexie Incident'' (''Italy v. India'') case before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS),<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pcacases.com/web/view/117|title=''The Enrica Lexie Incident'' (''Italy v. India'')|website=pcacases.com|publisher=Permanent Court of Arbitration|access-date=27 August 2018}}</ref> as Indian agent for the ''Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to Cessation of the Nuclear Arms Race and to Nuclear Disarmament'' (''Marshall Islands v. India'') case before the International Court of Justice,<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.icj-cij.org/en/case/158|title=''Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to Cessation of the Nuclear Arms Race and to Nuclear Disarmament'' (''Marshall Islands v. India'')|website=International Court of Justice|access-date=27 August 2018}}</ref> as a co–Indian agent in the ''Indus Waters Kishenganga Arbitration'' (''Pakistan v. India'') case before the PCA,<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pcacases.com/web/view/20|title=''Indus Waters Kishenganga Arbitration'' (''Pakistan v. India'')|website=www.pcacases.com|publisher=Permanent Court of Arbitration|access-date=27 August 2018}}</ref> and as a member of the governing board of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation's arbitration council.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":0" />
=== Judgeship at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea === Chadha was elected as a judge to the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, the United Nation's primary judicial organ for dealing with disputes related to international maritime law, in June 2015 for a nine-year term.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Chadha was elected as one of two judges from the Asia-Pacific group, receiving 120 votes and being elected in the first round of voting itself,<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" /> defeating candidates from Lebanon, Indonesia, and Thailand.<ref name=":0" /> She became the first Indian woman to be elected to a judgeship in the ITLOS,<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" /> and the joint-second overall along with Liesbeth Lijnzaad of the Netherlands after Elsa Kelly of Argentina.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":0" />
Chadha assumed office as a judge at the ITLOS in October 2017.<ref name=":3" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://www.itlos.org/the-tribunal/members/judge-neeru-chadha/ Profile] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827075229/https://www.itlos.org/the-tribunal/members/judge-neeru-chadha/ |date=27 August 2018 }}, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea website
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Chadha, Neeru}} Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:Indian jurists Category:20th-century Indian lawyers Category:20th-century Indian women lawyers Category:21st-century Indian judges Category:21st-century Indian women judges Category:People from Delhi Category:Delhi University alumni Category:University of Michigan Law School alumni Category:International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea judges Category:Indian judges of United Nations courts and tribunals