New Judges Elected to ICJ

Yesterday, the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council elected four Members of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for a term of office of nine years, beginning on 6 February 2012. Judges Hisashi Owada (Japan), Peter Tomka (Slovakia) and Xue Hanqin (China) were re-elected as Members of the Court. Mr. Giorgio Gaja (Italy) was elected as a new Member of the Court. The election of a fifth Member of the Court could not be concluded on Thursday, because no candidate obtained a majority in both the General Assembly and the Security Council. That election has been postponed.  In February 2012, the newly constituted Court will elect from among its Members a President and a Vice-President, who will hold office for three years.  More information and the biographies of the re-elected Members of the Court are available on the ICJ's website.  The biography of the newly elected Member, Mr. Gaja, may be found here.

 (cgb)