JUDGE STEPHEN M. SCHWEBEL OF UNITED STATES ELECTED PRESIDENT OF INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

10 February 1997

Press Release
ICJ/548

JUDGE STEPHEN M. SCHWEBEL OF UNITED STATES ELECTED PRESIDENT OF INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

19970210 Judge Christopher G. Weeramantry of Sri Lanka Elected Vice-President

THE HAGUE, 6 February (ICJ) -- Stephen M. Schwebel of the United States, a Judge of the International Court of Justice since 1981, today was elected President of the Court for a three-year term. Christopher G. Weeramantry of Sri Lanka, a Judge of the Court since 1991, was elected Vice-President.

The 15-member Court, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, adjudicates disputes between States and gives advisory opinions to the United Nations and its specialized agencies. In recent years, the Court has had more cases on its docket then ever before.

The current composition of the Court is: President Stephen M. Schwebel (United States); Vice-President Christopher G. Weeramantry (Sri Lanka); Judges: Shigeru Oda (Japan); Mohammed Bedjaoui (Algeria); Gilbert Guillaume (France); Raymond Ranjeva (Madagascar); Geza Herczegh (Hungary); Shi Jiuyong (China); Carl-August Fleischhauer (Germany); Abdul G. Koroma (Sierra Leone); Vladlen S. Vereshchetin (Russian Federation); Rosalyn Higgins (United Kingdom); Gonzalo Parra-Aranguren (Venezuela); Pieter H. Kooijmans (Netherlands); Jose F. Rezek (Brazil).

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