JUDGE TOMAS HEIDAR

Judge James Luta Kateka (born 29th April 1945 in the district of Karagwe) was a Tanzanian lawyer and has been a Judge at the International Tribunal of the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) since 2005.

Judge Kateka graduated with a Bachelor of Law (with Honours) from the University of Dar-es-Salaam in 1970. This was followed by a Master of Law degree at King's College London with the orientation of international law in 1974. In 1970, he began his career in Tanzania’s Foreign Ministry and was, among others, consultant to Tanzania's Permanent Mission to the United Nations. He also served as Ambassador to Germany, Russia and Sweden.

Judge Kateka has also served as a member of various international conferences on the drafting of treaties under international law, including the Vienna Convention on State Succession in International Treaties, the Statute of the International Seabed Authority and that of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. He was awarded the Papal Honour of the Grand Cross with the Star of the Order of Pius IX in 1993.