Remembering H.E. judge Thomas Aboagye Mensah

The passing of H.E. Dr. Thomas Aboagye Mensah, Former President of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), has deprived the world of an outstanding international jurist and a pre-eminent expert in the law of the sea and in maritime and environmental law.

Judge Mensah (Tom to his friends) was not only a world-renowned specialist in these fields, but also a major player in the establishment of the highly complex international legal regime in the above subjects.

As Assistant Secretary-General and Director of Legal Affairs and External Relations at the International Maritime Organization (IMO), London, Tom played a prominent role in the negotiation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

As the inaugural President of ITLOS (1996), Tom superintended the operation of the newly established international adjudicatory system for the resolution of disputes in the byzantine field of the law of the sea and maritime law.

The distinctive feature of Tom’s illustrious international career was that he enjoyed the utmost respect of his intellectual and professional peers. While his election as one of the twenty-one judges of ITLOS could not escape the usual political process at the United Nations, his elevation to the Presidency of the Tribunal was entirely the result of the recognition accorded to him by his fellow judges as eminently qualified to head the new international judicial body.

Tom was chosen purely on the basis of his personal merit. This was a remarkable honour to a person who hailed from a country which had no pretentions to the status of a maritime power.

The confidence reposed in him by his peers was not misplaced. His tenure as President and later as Judge of the Tribunal was marked by intellectual brilliance, impeccable integrity and imaginative leadership.

Under his watch, ITLOS emerged as a viable international adjudicatory institution. After his retirement, his distinguished service was recognized again by his peers in various ways.

He was honoured with a liber amicorum, a compilation of scholarly essays by his admirers. He was also appointed as chairman or member of judicial or arbitration panels in high profile cases in the law of the sea, such as Philippines v China, Netherlands v Russia, Bangladesh v Myanmar and Argentina v Ghana.

He received the highly prestigious International Maritime prize from IMO in 2012 for his enormous contribution to maritime law. He was also appointed professor at universities in Hawaii and Leiden.

Tom’s extraordinary international accomplishments inevitably prompt an enquiry into his background. He graduated from Achimota School in 1951 and obtained a BA (majoring in Philosophy) with a First Class from Legon in 1956. A first-class degree was a rare phenomenon in the first decade of the University of Ghana.

Tom and I were contemporaries at Achimota School in the later 1940s and also met briefly at Yale Law School in 1963. We both enjoyed a common association with the Law Faculty at Legon as pioneering lecturers and with the international legal fraternity in various capacities.

Tom excelled at Achimota, and at Legon, although he was not a “swot”. His journey to law was at once remarkable and unconventional. After his BA, he entered the job market, while studying privately for the external LLB degree of London.

He achieved the feat of passing the London LLB examination in 1959 with high honours by his own endeavours without the aid of a tutor or a law library, and finally secured admission to the graduate program at Yale Law School in 1961. There he came under the influence of Myres McDougal, the legendary Professor of International Law, and soon became his star student. Tom spent two short years at Yale Law School, during which he received his LLM and completed all his requirements for his doctorate, except the submission of his thesis which was done in 1964.

His rare intellectual prowess was very much in evidence at Yale Law School where he left a huge reputation. At one of the reunions of Yale Law School, Professor McDougal chided Tom for failing to publish his thesis on the concept of self-determination in international law, which the professor graded as first-rate.

Tom ranks among the four students of Professor Myres McDougal who attained high international judicial office. They are: Stephen Schwebel (US), former President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Rosalyn Higgins (UK), former President of the ICJ, Florentino Feliciano (Philippines) former President of the Appellate Body of WTO, and of course, Tom.

It is not fully appreciated that Tom made a significant contribution to Ghana. He taught law in the mid-sixties and served briefly as Dean of the Law Faculty at Legon. He also chaired the Constitutional Commission which prepared proposals for the Third Republican Constitution. He was the first High Commissioner to be appointed by Ghana to South Africa. Tom is popularly known to the general public as Ghana’s Judge in the maritime dispute between Ghana and Ivory Coast which was resolved in Ghana’s favour.

In fact, for twenty years before that assignment, Tom had served the entire international community as a pre-eminent international jurist.

Tom was not only a towering intellect but also a great human being. His rise to international prominence never affected his basic humanity and disarming modesty.

He remained affable, compassionate and a loyal friend throughout his life.

An encounter with Tom was always a delightful experience marked by a friendly banter of the senior common room variety! He had an irrepressible sense of humour.

I recall that during the funeral rites for the late Professor Alex Kwapong, Tom and I were highly amused by the efforts of my overzealous sword bearers to intercept him as he cheerfully made his way through my traditional procession to greet his schoolmate, the Omanhene. My timely intervention prevented a diplomatic incident!!

Similarly, during the one-week celebration of the passing of Dr. James Nti, Tom was tickled by an irreverent joke that he was busy settling the maritime boundaries between countries in the distant oceans while his own village could hardly be detected on any map!!

Like me, Tom looked back on our days at Achimota with deep affection and appreciation. Achimota played a pivotal role in our transition from an African village to the global village, He once confided in me that he was prepared to assume the headmastership of the old school pro bono after his retirement from the United Nations. Alas, the call to higher international duty thwarted that pet ambition.

I recall the gracious hospitality which Tom and his charming wife, Akosua, extended to me in 1996 when I visited South Africa on an international assignment.

In a somber moment, Tom once shared with me his feeling that he regarded the liber amicorum published in his honour by eminent legal experts as a sort of reassuring condolence after the loss of his son.

I trust that this modest tribute to my distinguished friend will bring some comfort to Akosua and the entire family.

Rest in peace in the bosom of our Lord, dear Tom.