No British judge on world court panel for first time in its 71-year history
New Delhi/New York: In a big diplomatic win for India and the Modi government, Justice Dalveer Bhandari was on Tuesday re-elected to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
A jubilant Indian government said “the extraordinary support from the UN membership is reflective of the respect for strong constitutional integrity of the Indian polity and the independence of the judiciary in India”.
With Justice Bhandari’s election, Britain will not have a judge on the world court’s 15-member panel for the first time.
The election outcome came after 11 rounds of voting which were deadlocked because a victorious candidate has to get majority vote both in the UN General Assembly and the Security Council.
In the 11 rounds of voting, India had an overwhelming majority in the UNGA (nearly two-thirds) while Britain prevailed in the UNSC because the P-5 countries tend to stick together.
Sources indicated that the tide turned after two of the P-5 members told Britain that it would not be wise to terminate further rounds of voting and go for a consultation mechanism which required open voting.
Once, cracks emerged in the P-5, Britain threw in the towel after its efforts to try every trick in the book to derail the Indian campaign failed. India also refused to budge under pressure and insisted that the democratic process be completed, sources said.
In May this year, after the ICJ barred Pakistan from executing former Indian naval officer Kulbhushan Jadhav till the court pronounces its final decision, Justice Bhandari was quoted by an Indian daily as saying, “I am delighted that the International Court rose to the occasion and did what it could in such short notice. We have saved a person from the gallows. This will prove to be a very important case for the jurisprudence of human rights.”
Hailing the victory on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “Congratulations to EAM @SushmaSwaraj and her entire team at MEA & diplomatic missions for their untiring efforts that have led to India’s re-election to ICJ. Our deep gratitude to all the members of UNGA as well as UNSC for their support and trust in India. I congratulate Justice Dalveer Bhandari on being re-elected to the International Court of Justice. His re-election is a proud moment for us.”
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj exulted, “Vande Matram - India wins election to the International Court of Justice. JaiHind. Congratulations to Justice Dalveer Bhandari on his re-election as a Judge of the ICJ.”
