ICJ - Election of Judges

ICJ judges go through a structured nomination and election process under the Statute.

• Nomination (Article 4): Judges are elected from a list of persons nominated by National Groups in the Permanent Court of Arbitration.
• National Groups (Article 6): National Groups are consulted under Article 6 of the Statute before making nominations.
• Secretary-General's request (Article 5): The UN Secretary-General addresses a written request to Permanent Court of Arbitration members at least 3 months before the date of election, inviting nominations.
• List preparation (Article 7): The Secretary-General prepares the list of nominees in alphabetical order and submits it to both the General Assembly and the Security Council.
• Independent election (Article 8): The General Assembly and Security Council proceed independently of one another to elect the judges (not concurrently or jointly).
• Majority required (Article 10): Candidates who obtain an absolute majority of votes in both the GA and SC are considered elected.
• Tie-breaker (Article 12(4)): In the event of an equality of votes among judges, the eldest judge has a casting vote.