Book excerpt: The present volume is the fourth in a series, "The Judges," which collects and synthesizes the opinions of leading international judges of the contemporary era who have contributed significantly to the progressive development of international law. The series was launched with the Judicial Opinions of Shigeru Oda, former Judge and Vice President of the International Court of Justice. This collection of Opinions covers the period from the year 1993 until his retirement in 2003. All of the individual Opinions filed by Judge Oda in this period - Separate Opinions, Declarations and Dissenting Opinions - are included, and they are published in full, without editorial cuts. The study includes a "resume "and analysis of Judge Oda's Judicial Opinions, through the cases, and attempts some identification and synthesis of the main elements in his approach to decision making and opinion writing, as well as the main strands in his judicial philosophy, as demonstrated in the actual case law.