Election to fill UN World Court vacancy to be held in September

The Security Council and General Assembly will hold elections on 9 September to fill a vacancy on the United Nations International Court of Justice (ICJ) arising from the resignation of Judge Thomas Buergenthal.

The date for the simultaneous but separate meetings was fixed in a resolution adopted unanimously by the 15-member Council.

Judge Buergenthal has been a member of the Court – the principal judicial organ of the UN – since March 2000 and was re-elected to serve a nine-year term beginning in February 2006.

Established in 1945 under the UN Charter, the ICJ settles legal disputes between States and gives advisory opinions on legal questions that have been referred to it by authorized UN organs or specialized agencies. It is also sometimes referred to as the World Court.

Judges are chosen on the basis of their qualifications, not on the basis of nationality, and care is taken to ensure that the principal legal systems of the world are represented. No two judges can be from the same country. They cannot engage in any other occupation during their term of office.