Veteran Australian judge Hillary Charlesworth elected to the International Court of Justice 

Hillary Charlesworth, from Australia, will replace James Crawford, besides from Australia, who died successful May and had been on the Court since 2014. She volition service a nine-year term. 

Mrs. Charlesworth defeated Linos-Alexander Sicilianos, from Greece, with an implicit bulk of votes, becoming the fifth women judge ever at the ICJ. 

She is well-known arsenic a preeminent student of planetary law, and has besides served arsenic a judge ad hoc for the Court successful 2 contentious rulings of the ICJ: Arbitral Award of 3 October 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela) and Whaling successful the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan: New Zealand intervening). 

Court of courts 

The Court is composed of 15 judges, who are elected by an implicit bulk successful some the General Assembly (97 votes) and Security Council (8 votes). The timing of elections is staggered truthful that the General Assembly elects a 3rd of the Court erstwhile each 3 years. 

According to the Court's Statute, its judges indispensable beryllium chosen by coordinated actions of some the Council and the General Assembly, with the day of elections determined by the Council. 

Judges are chosen on the ground of their qualifications, not their nationality, but nary 2 judges tin beryllium from the aforesaid country. Effort is besides taken to guarantee that the main ineligible systems of the satellite are reflected successful the creation of the court. 

Established successful 1945, and based successful The Hague successful the Netherlands, the ICJ – which is besides known arsenic the World Court – settles ineligible disputes betwixt States and gives advisory opinions connected ineligible questions that person been referred to it by different authorized UN organs. 

The Court has a dual mission, consisting, connected the 1 hand, of settling disputes of a ineligible quality submitted to it by States successful accordance with planetary instrumentality and, connected the different hand, of giving advisory opinions connected ineligible questions which whitethorn beryllium submitted to it. 

An alternate to armed conflict 

In an interrogation with UN News, successful New York, the Registrar of the ICJ left a wide connection to Member States: it is ever amended for them to attack the Court to settee a quality alternatively than launching into equipped conflict. 

Philippe Gautier, from Belgium, has held the station of Registrar, the caput of the Secretariat which assists the Court, since 2019.  

Mr. Gautier said the Court currently has 15 cases connected the docket, which give “a snapshot of problems and issues of interest for the planetary community.” 

The main area, helium explained, is delimitation of maritime oregon onshore boundaries, with 5 cases. 

“It's precise sensitive. For a 10 quadrate kilometer, countries whitethorn spell to utmost solutions sometimes. It is ever amended to settee that peacefully”, Mr. Gautier said.  

Human Rights is also precise prominent, with cases regarding the determination of the United States’ embassy to Jerusalem, a lawsuit brought by Palestine, or the alleged usurpation of the Convention Against Genocide, a case brought by Gambia against Myanmar. 

“The full process of peaceful colony of quality means that, instead of waging a war, you spell to an planetary tribunal to settee peacefully your dispute”, the Registrar explained. “That is something of involvement for each quality being, and that is not truthful good known.”