United Nations

 NEW YORK, 3 November (UN Headquarters) -- The Security Council this morning, meeting concurrently with the General Assembly, elected Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh (Jordan), Gilbert Guillame (France), Rosalyn Higgins (United Kingdom), Gonzalo Parra-Aranguren (Venezuela) and Raymond Ranjeva (Madagascar) to fill five vacancies on the International Court of Justice.   The Council elected the five judges in one round of secret balloting.  Each Judge will serve a nine-year term starting 6 February 2000.

 In today's elections, seven candidates were nominated to fill the five vacancies.  Before the balloting began, the President of the Council, Danilo Turk (Slovenia) announced that the name of the candidate from the Democratic Republic of the Congo had been withdrawn.

 In the Assembly, the five judges obtained the required majority in the second round of voting.

 Under the voting procedure for the Court, a candidate who obtains an absolute majority of votes in both the Assembly and the Council is considered elected.  The absolute required majority in the Council is eight votes.  According to rule 151 of the Assembly's Rules of Procedure, and Rule 61 of the Council's Provisional Rules of Procedure, if less than five candidates receive an absolute majority in the first ballot in either the Assembly or the Council, a second ballot is held and balloting will continue in the same meeting until five candidates have been elected.  If more than five candidates obtain an absolute majority, a new vote is held on all candidates.  The Assembly gave all six candidates an absolute majority in the first round of balloting.

 As of 6 February 2000, the composition of the 15-member Court will be as follows (terms expire on 5 February of the year in parenthesis):  Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh (Jordan) (2009);  Mohammed Bedjaoui (Algeria) (2006); Carl-August Fleischhauer (Germany) (2003); Gilbert Guillaume (France) (2009); Géza Herczegh (Hungary) (2003); Rosalyn Higgins (United Kingdom) (2009); Shi Jiuyong (China) (2003), Pieter H. Kooijmans (Netherlands) (2006); Abdul G. Koroma (Sierra Leone) (2003); Shigeru Oda (Japan) (2003); Gonzalo Parra-Aranguren (Venezuela) (2009); Raymond Ranjeva (Madagascar) (2009); Francisco Rezek (Brazil) (2006); Stephen M. Schwebel (United States) (2006); Vladlen S. Vereschchetin (Russian Federation) (2006).

 Located in The Hague, the International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.  It adjudicates disputes between States, rendering legal opinions that are binding upon them and gives advisory opinions to the United Nations and the specialized agencies when so requested.  The President of the International Court of Justice is Judge Stephen M. Schwebel.  As of
27 October, the Court has some 24 cases on its docket.

 The meeting, which began at 10:20 a.m., was adjourned at 1:15 p.m.

 Council Work Programme

 The Security Council met this morning concurrently with the General Assembly to elect five judges to the International Court of Justice for a period of nine years beginning 6 February 2000, in conformity with Articles 4 and 13 of the Statute of the Court.  The terms of office of the following five members of the Court will expire on 5 February 2000:  Gilbert Guillame (France); Rosalyn Higgins (United Kingdom); Gonzalo Parra-Aranguren (Venezuela); Raymond Ranjeva (Madagascar); and Christopher G. Weeramantry (Sri Lanka).

 The Court's composition and the voting procedure to be followed in the General Assembly and the Council are set out in a memorandum by the Secretary-General (A/54/305-S/1999/939).

 The Court's Statute stipulates that members "shall be elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council from a list of persons nominated by the national groups in the Permanent Court of Arbitration".  A note by the Secretary-General transmits the list of candidates nominated by the national groups (A/54/306-S/1999/940, A/54/306/Add.1-S/1999/940/Add.1, A/54/306/Rev.1-S/1999/940/Rev.1 and A/54/307- S/1999/941). Another document transmits the candidates' curricula vitae (document A/54/307-S/1999/941).

 The seven candidates are:  Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh (Jordan); Mikuin-Leliel Balanda (Democratic Republic of the Congo); Gilbert Guillaume (France);  Rosalyn Higgins (United Kingdom); Gonzalo Parra-Aranguren (Venezuela); Raymond Ranjeva (Madagascar); Christopher Gregory Weeramantry (Sri Lanka).

 Mr. Al-Khasawneh, Advisor to the King and Advisor to the State on International Law with the rank of Minister, was nominated by the national groups of Austria, Canada, Hungary, Italy, Jordan, Norway and Sweden.

 Mr. Balanda, Professor in the Faculty of Law of the University of Kinshasa, was nominated by the national group of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

 Mr. Guillaume, Judge on the International Court of Justice since 1987, was nominated by the national groups of Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Norway, Panama, Russian Federation, Senegal, Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.

 Ms. Higgins, Judge on the International Court of Justice since 1995, was nominated by the national groups of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.

 Mr. Parra-Aranguren, Judge on the International Court of Justice since 1996, was nominated by the national groups of Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Jordan, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Panama, Slovakia, Sweden, Uruguay and Venezuela.

 Mr. Ranjeva, currently serving as a Judge on the Court, was nominated by the national groups of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, France, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Norway, Panama, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Uruguay and Venezuela.

 Mr. Weeramantry, Vice-President of the International Court of Justice since 1997 and member since 1991, was nominated by the national groups of Australia, Belgium, Finland, Italy, New Zealand, Nigeria, Spain and Sri Lanka.

 Election of Judges to International Court of Justice

 Council President DANILO TURK (Slovenia) said that the Permanent Mission of the Democratic Republic of the Congo had informed him that the national group of the Democratic Republic of the Congo had withdrawn its nomination of Mikuin-Leliel Balanda.

 The PRESIDENT then drew the names of France and the United States to act as tellers, and the Council proceeded to take a secret ballot.

 Following the balloting, the PRESIDENT announced the results of the vote as follows:
 Number of ballot papers: 15

 Number of invalid ballots:   0
 Number of valid ballots: 15
 Required majority:   8

 Number of votes obtained:

 Gilbert Guillaume (France): 15
 Rosalyn Higgins (United Kingdom): 15
 Gonzalo Parra-Aranguren (Venezuela): 15
 Raymond Ranjeva (Madagascar): 14
 Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh (Jordan):   9
 Christopher Gregory Weeramantry (Sri Lanka)   6

 Five candidates obtained the required majority in the Security Council: Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh (Jordan); Gilbert Guillaume (France); Rosalyn Higgins (United Kingdom); Gonzalo Parra-Aranguren (Venezuela);and Raymond Ranjeva (Madagascar).

 After communicating the results of the Council voting to the President of the General Assembly, the PRESIDENT announced that as a result of the independent voting in the Council and the Assembly, Madam Rosalyn Higgins, Awn Shawkat, Al-Khasawneh, Gilbert Guillume, Gonzalo Parra-Aranguren and Raymond Ranjeva were elected as members of the International Court of Justice for a nine-year term of office beginning on 6 February 1997.

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