On August 24, 2020, the 30th Meeting of States Parties to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea held the election of judges of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea at the headquarters of the United Nations. The Chinese candidate H.E. Mr. Duan Jielong, currently serving as China's Ambassador to Hungary, was elected with high votes.

In this election, seven judges would be elected to the court. After the first round of balloting, the other five elected judges are: David J. Attard (Malta), Ida Caracciolo (Italy), INFANTE CAFFI, María Teresa (Chile), Maurice Kengne Kamga (Cameroon), Markiyan Kulyk (Ukraine). The newly elected judges have a term of nine years and will start their tenure on October 1, 2020. The second round of balloting is scheduled for August 25 to elect the remaining seat.

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea is an international judicial institution established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and is mainly responsible for handling international maritime disputes. The Tribunal was established in October 1996, headquartered in Hamburg, Germany and consists of 21 independent judges. Since the establishment of the court, three Chinese judges have served in the court, including Zhao Lihai (1996-2000), Xu Guangjian (2001-2007) and Gao Zhiguo (2008-2020).