India to face UK in ICJ Election

India to face UK in ICJ Election

Context

• The government is putting “all efforts in” to ensure the election of its nominee Judge Dalveer Bhandari for the International Court of Justice

What is ICJ?

• The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is one of the principal organs of the United Nations.
• Also known as the World Court, it adjudicates legal disputes between states, and provides advisory opinions on legal questions submitted by other UN organs or agencies.
• The court consists of 15 judges, with five judges elected every three years.
• Judges are required to be independent and impartial; they may not exercise any political or administrative function, and do not act as a representative of their home state.

What is the election procedure?

• Elections of members of the Court are governed by articles 2 through 15 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice.
• To be elected, a candidate must obtain an absolute majority of votes both in the General Assembly and in the Security Council.
• The words “absolute majority” are interpreted as meaning a majority of all electors, whether or not they vote or are allowed to vote.
• To be elected, any candidate must obtain a majority of 97 votes or more in the UN general assembly and also a majority of eight votes in the Security Council.
• Only those candidates whose names appear on the ballot papers are eligible for election.
• Each elector in the General Assembly and in the Security Council may vote for not more than five candidates on the first ballot and, on subsequent ballots for five less the number of candidates who have already obtained an absolute majority.

How is the election significant for India?

• India has a particular interest in the ICJ spot, given the trial of Kulbhushan Jadhav, the man convicted of spying in Pakistan, which is now in the international court at The Hague.

What is the status of this year’s election?

• The next round of voting will be on Monday, when Mr. Bhandari will face off with the United Kingdom candidate Christopher Greenwood, who also lost in the vote, in what is being described as a close contest.
• India finished far ahead in the 193-member United Nations General Assembly and Britain got more votes in the United Nations Security Council.
• If the next round of voting proves inconclusive, the U.N. would hold a “joint conference” made up of members from both the Assembly and the Council, after which the elected judges may be asked to decide.
• During the last unsuccessful round India won 115 to U.K.’s 74 votes in the UNGA, but won only six out of 15 U.N. Security Council members, while U.K. won 9.