Charles N. Brower is a former State Department official, international judge, and recognized expert in public international law and international dispute resolution. He has been a judge of the Iran–United States Claims Tribunal since 1983. He has also served as a Judge ad hoc in three cases before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) since 2014. He is currently affiliated with 20 Essex Street Chambers in London, UK.^[1]

Brower was educated at Harvard College (B.A., 1957) and Harvard Law School (J.D., 1961).^[2]

He began his career as an attorney in private practice from 1961–1968 with the law firm of White & Case LLP. He then served in various roles in the U.S. Government, including the U.S. Department of State. He served as Assistant Legal Adviser for European Affairs (1969–1971); Deputy Legal Adviser (1971-1972); and Acting Legal Adviser (1973), leading the Office of the Legal Adviser.^[3] During this period, he was also Member, Joint U.S.-U.S.S.R. Commercial Commission (1972-1973). He later served as Deputy Special Counsellor to the President of the United States (1987), with sub-Cabinet rank as Deputy Assistant to the President. He then returned to White & Case and co-founded its Washington, D.C., office in 1988.

Brower has served since 1983 as a judge of the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague, The Netherlands, where he was a full-time member from 1984 to 1988.^[4] Since 2014, Brower has also been judge ad hoc of the International Court of Justice. As of October 2023 he is a judge in two active cases by appointment of the United States:^[5]

• The Case Concerning Certain Iranian Assets (Islamic Republic of Iran v United States of America): serving as judge ad hoc (2016-current).
• The Case Concerning Alleged Violations of the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights (Islamic Republic of Iran v United States of America): serving as judge ad hoc (2018–current).^[6]

He also was a judge ad hoc of the International Court of Justice in a case by appointment of Colombia until he resigned on 5 June 2022:

• Question of the Delimitation of the Continental Shelf Between Nicaragua and Colombia Beyond 200 Nautical Miles from the Nicaraguan Coast (Nicaragua v Colombia): serving as judge ad hoc (2014–2022).

Brower has served also as a judge ad hoc of other international judicial panels, such as the Inter-American Court of Human Rights; as a member of the Register of Experts of the United Nations Compensation Commission in Geneva (UNCC); and as a member of the Panel of Arbitrators of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).^[7]

Brower has been a visiting fellow at Jesus College, Cambridge and a distinguished visiting professor at the University of Virginia Law School.