Van den Wyngaert already sits on the bench of the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY), where she was appointed last year as lead judge in the trial of Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadžić. “This is the finalisation of a trajectory that has taken me years of work,” she said.

She first became interested in international criminal law in the 1980s, when the notion of a supranational criminal jurisdiction was only “a far-off ideal”. Since then she has sat on a committee set up to update the Geneva Conventions, as well as serving on the International Court of Justice, the body which rules on disputes between states, all the while teaching at the University of Antwerp. Since 2003, she has sat on the bench of the ICTY, also based in the Hague.

The ICC was set up in 2002 to deal with war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, but can only prosecute crimes committed after that date. There are 108 signatory nations, notable exceptions being Israel and the United States. The court is currently investigating four “situations” worldwide: Congo, the Central African Republic, Darfur region in Sudan and northern Uganda.

“This is a high court that still has to make its mark,” Van den Wyngaert said. “The important thing is that the sitting judges have practical experience and that the procedures become streamlined. And as many countries as possible have to sign up.” The arrival of Barack Obama in the White House offers new hope: “It’s crucial that the US work with the court, but Bush pulled out. I hope Obama can turn the tide and sign and ratify the treaty,” she said.