Judge Thomas Buergenthal is the American judge on the 15-member International Court of Justice, which has its seat at The Hague, Netherlands. Prior to his election to the Court in 2000, he was the Lobingier Professor of Comparative Law and Jurisprudence at the George Washington University Law School and Director of its International Rule of Law Center. Earlier Judge Buergenthal held endowed professorships at the University of Texas and Emory University Law Schools and served as Dean of the Washington College of Law of the American University.

Between 1979-91, Judge Buergenthal was a judge on the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and also served as that Court's Vice President and President. He was a member of the UN Human Rights Committee and the UN Truth Commission for El Salvador. Judge Buergenthal also served as Vice Chairman of the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts in Switzerland and as Director of the Human Rights Program of the Carter Center of Emory University.

Judge Buergenthal graduated from Bethany College, WV. He received his J.D. degree from the New York University Law School, and his LL.M. and S.J.D. degrees from the Harvard Law School. He is the author or co-author of more than a dozen books and numerous law review articles on international law and international human rights topics. He is a member of the New York and District of Columbia Bars.