International Court of Justice: Vote on Draft Resolution*
This afternoon, the Security Council is scheduled to vote on a draft resolution setting a date for the election to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of the former President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Judge Nawaf Salam. Salam resigned from the bench on 13 January after being designated as the prime minister of Lebanon and tasked with forming a new government by Joseph Aoun, who was elected as president of Lebanon on 9 January.
The draft resolution was circulated by Algeria, the President of the Council in January, on 22 January and placed directly under silence until 3 pm on 23 January. Silence was not broken, and the draft was then placed in blue.
The draft in blue fixes 27 May as the date for the election and also notes Salam’s resignation as a member of the ICJ, effective 14 January. It further notes that there is a vacancy in the ICJ for the remainder of his term that must be filled in accordance with the ICJ Statute. Salam’s term was due to expire on 5 February 2027.
The draft also refers to Article 14 of the ICJ Statute, which provides that the date for an election to fill a vacancy on the bench shall be fixed by the Council. Article 14 further stipulates that the Secretary-General must issue invitations inviting member states to nominate candidates for the election within one month of the vacancy arising and at least three months before the date of the election. (For more information on the process for electing judges of the ICJ, see our 2016 research report on the relationship between the Council and the Court.)
On 16 January, the Secretary-General issued a note referring to Salam’s resignation and the relevant provisions of the ICJ Statute. The note said that the Council “may wish to consider” the question of the election date at an early meeting, taking into consideration the deadlines for the election set out in the ICJ statute. The note also indicated that the Secretary-General “expects to issue the request for nominations as soon as possible”.
Elections to the ICJ were last held on 9 November 2023. The Council and the General Assembly re-elected one judge who was already on the bench, Hilary Charlesworth (Australia). Another judge who was on the bench at the time, Kirill Gevorgian (Russia), was not re-elected. Four new judges were also elected: Bogdan-Lucian Aurescu (Romania); Sarah Hull Cleveland (United States); Juan Manuel Gómez Robledo Verduzco (Mexico); and Dire Tladi (South Africa). Three other candidates were unsuccessful: Chaloka Beyani (Zambia); Ahmed Amin Fathalla (Egypt); and Antoine Kesia-Mbe Mindua (Democratic Republic of the Congo). The Security Council went through five rounds of voting, while the General Assembly needed only one round.
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**Post-script: On 24 January, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2770, which fixed 27 May as the date for the election to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of the former President of the ICJ, Judge Nawaf Salam.
