STORY: Five jurists elected judges of International Court of Justice
SHOOTING TIME: Nov. 9, 2023
DATELINE: Nov. 10, 2023
LENGTH: 0:05:22
LOCATION: UN Headquarters
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. wide shot of UNGA Hall
2. various of General Assembly ballot collection
3. wide shot of Security Council Chamber
4. various of Security Council ballot collection
5. SOUNDBITE (Chinese): ZHANG JUN, China's permanent representative to the UN
6. various of delegates applauding in UNGA Hall

STORYLINE:

Five jurists were elected on Thursday by the Security Council and the General Assembly as judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to replace five outgoing judges.

SOUNDBITE (Chinese): ZHANG JUN, China's permanent representative to the UN
"As the Security Council and General Assembly have agreed on the same candidates, the distinguished jurists Bogdan-Lucian Aurescu, Romania; Hilary Charlesworth, Australia; Sarah Hull Cleveland, United States of America; Juan Manuel Gomez Robledo Verduzco, Mexico; and Dire Tladi, South Africa have been elected members of the International Court of Justice for a term of office of nine years, beginning on Feb. 6, 2024. I would like to congratulate them and wish them every success in the high office to which they have been elected."

Among the five, Charlesworth of Australia was re-elected.

Kirill Gevorgian of Russia, who also sought re-election, failed in his bid.

This year, there were nine candidates for five positions. Apart from Gevorgian of Russia, three other contenders - Chaloka Beyani of Zambia, Ahmed Amin Fathalla of Egypt, and Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - failed to obtain enough votes.

Under the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, the election of ICJ judges is through secret balloting at the Security Council and the General Assembly. A candidate has to obtain absolute majority in both chambers to get elected. Voting in the two chambers must be held concurrently but separately.

This year, the General Assembly obtained a conclusive result in its first round of voting. The Security Council, however, had to run five rounds to get a conclusive result, which mirrors the voting result of the General Assembly.

The Hague-based ICJ has 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office. To ensure a degree of continuity, five judges are elected every three years. Judges are eligible for re-election. Should a judge die or resign during his or her term of office, a special election is held to choose a judge to fill the unexpired part of the term.

The 15 judges must come from 15 different countries. The court as a whole must represent the main forms of civilization and the principal legal systems of the world.

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from UN Headquarters.
(XHTV)