General Assembly, Security Council Fail to Elect Fifth Justice to World Court
The General Assembly failed to elect the fifth remaining member today to the International Court of Justice. After seven rounds of voting, which were held concurrently of, but independently from, the voting process in the Security Council, the final choice between the two bodies did not concur. The Assembly consistently chose Patrick Lipton Robinson of Jamaica, while the Council selected Susana Ruiz Cerutti of Argentina. Both bodies would vote again on 17 November.
Four out of the five candidates had been elected on 6 November for a period of nine years beginning 6 February 2015.
The Court’s justices are elected by obtaining an absolute majority of votes in both the Assembly and the Council, without regard to their nationality, from among persons of high moral character around the world. Each has the qualifications required in his or her respective country for appointment to the highest judicial office, or is a jurisconsult of recognized competencies in international law. No two judges can be from the same country and they cannot engage in any other occupation during their term of office. (For Security Council results, see Press Release SC/11634.)
As the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice — often referred to as the World Court — settles legal disputes between States parties and gives advisory opinions to the Organization and its specialized agencies. The Court is open to all parties to its Statute, which automatically includes all Members of the United Nations.
Yesterday, the Assembly and had sent two current judges, Mohamed Benounna (Morocco) and Joan E. Donoghue (United States), back to their posts in The Hague by re-electing them, while choosing two new justices, Kirill Gevorgian (Russian Federation) and James Richard Crawford (Australia), to the World Court.
The General Assembly will next convene at 10 a.m. on Monday, 10 November, for the election of 18 members of the Economic and Social Council.
Background
The General Assembly met today, concurrently with, but independently of, the Security Council, to elect one remaining member of the International Court of Justice to replace one whose term is set to expire on 5 February 2015. For background, see Press Release GA/11579.
First Round
The results of the first round of voting were as follows:
|
Number of ballot papers: |
192 |
|
Number of invalid ballots: |
0 |
|
Number of valid ballots: |
192 |
|
Abstentions: |
0 |
|
Number of Members voting: |
192 |
|
Required majority: |
97 |
|
Number of votes obtained: |
|
|
Patrick Lipton Robinson (Jamaica) |
115 |
|
Susana Ruiz Cerutti (Argentina) |
77 |
Though Mr. Robinson (Jamaica) had received an absolute majority in the Assembly, the results did not coincide with the vote in the Security Council, whose members had chosen Ms. Cerutti (Argentina). Therefore, the General Assembly moved to another round of voting.
Second Round
The results of the second round of voting were as follows:
|
Number of ballot papers: |
192 |
|
Number of invalid ballots: |
0 |
|
Number of valid ballots: |
192 |
|
Number of abstentions: |
0 |
|
Number of Members voting: |
192 |
|
Required majority: |
97 |
|
Number of votes obtained: |
|
|
Patrick Lipton Robinson (Jamaica) |
121 |
|
Susana Ruiz Cerutti (Argentina) |
71 |
Though Mr. Robinson (Jamaica) had received an absolute majority in the Assembly, again the results did not coincide with the vote in the Security Council, whose members had chosen Ms. Cerutti (Argentina). Therefore, the General Assembly moved to another round of voting.
Third Round
The results of the third round of voting were as follows:
|
Number of ballot papers: |
192 |
|
Number of invalid ballots: |
0 |
|
Number of valid ballots: |
192 |
|
Abstentions: |
0 |
|
Number of Members voting: |
192 |
|
Required majority: |
97 |
|
Number of votes obtained: |
|
|
Patrick Lipton Robinson (Jamaica) |
123 |
|
Susana Ruiz Cerutti (Argentina) |
69 |
Again, though Mr. Robinson (Jamaica) had received an absolute majority, the results did not coincide with voting results in the Council, whose members had chosen Ms. Cerutti (Argentina).
Fourth Round
The results of the fourth round of voting were as follows:
|
Number of ballot papers: |
189 |
|
Number of invalid ballots: |
0 |
|
Number of valid ballots: |
189 |
|
Abstentions: |
0 |
|
Number of Members voting: |
189 |
|
Required majority: |
97 |
|
Number of votes obtained: |
|
|
Patrick Lipton Robinson (Jamaica) |
121 |
|
Susana Ruiz Cerutti (Argentina) |
68 |
Though Mr. Robinson received a majority of votes, a concurrent vote in the Council yielded a majority to Ms. Cerutti. Therefore, another round of voting was undertaken.
Fifth Round
The results of the fifth round of voting were as follows:
|
Number of ballot papers: |
191 |
|
Number of invalid ballots: |
0 |
|
Number of valid ballots: |
191 |
|
Abstentions: |
1 |
|
Number of Members voting: |
190 |
|
Required majority: |
97 |
|
Number of votes obtained: |
|
|
Patrick Lipton Robinson (Jamaica) |
155 |
|
Susana Ruiz Cerutti (Argentina) |
65 |
Mr. Robinson won the absolute majority of votes in the General Assembly. However, the Council vote yielded an absolute majority for Ms. Cerutti. Therefore, another vote would be taken.
Sixth Round
The results of the sixth round of voting were as follows:
|
Number of ballot papers: |
191 |
|
Number of invalid ballots: |
0 |
|
Number of valid ballots: |
191 |
|
Abstentions: |
0 |
|
Number of Members voting: |
191 |
|
Required majority: |
97 |
|
Number of votes obtained: |
|
|
Patrick Lipton Robinson (Jamaica) |
127 |
|
Susana Ruiz Cerutti (Argentina) |
64 |
Mr. Robinson won the absolute majority in the Assembly. However, in the Council, Ms. Cerutti obtained the majority. Therefore, a new round of voting ensued.
Seventh Round
The results of the seventh round of voting were as follows:
|
Number of ballot papers: |
191 |
|
Number of invalid ballots: |
0 |
|
Number of valid ballots: |
191 |
|
Abstentions: |
0 |
|
Number of Members voting: |
191 |
|
Required majority: |
97 |
|
Number of votes obtained: |
|
|
Patrick Lipton Robinson (Jamaica) |
130 |
|
Susana Ruiz Cerutti (Argentina) |
61 |
Mr. Robinson (Jamaica) won an absolute majority in the Assembly. However, the Security Council had elected Ms. Cerutti. Since the same candidate had not been elected in both bodies, the General Assembly would be holding another meeting to vote on 17 November.