Diplomatic coup, Bhandari re-elected

NEW DELHI:India staged a diplomatic coup when Justice Dalveer Bhandari was re-elected to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) late Monday night in New York after the UK withdrew its candidate Justice Christopher Greenwood, who gave him a tough fight in 11 initial rounds of voting at the UN.

Justice Dalveer Bhandari

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 21

India staged a diplomatic coup when Justice Dalveer Bhandari was re-elected to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) late Monday night in New York after the UK withdrew its candidate Justice Christopher Greenwood, who gave him a tough fight in 11 initial rounds of voting at the UN.

“A vote that brings cheer to a billion. India’s nominee Judge Bhandari re-elected to ICJ. General Assembly: 183 Security Council: 15,” announced India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin on Twitter.

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In the 12th round of voting, India got 183 of the total 193 votes in the General Assembly while all 15 members of the Security Council supported Justice Bhandari’s re-election, the MEA said.

Just before the voting, Britain’s Permanent Representative to the UN Matthew Rycroft communicated to the Presidents of the Security Council and the General Assembly that his country had withdrawn Greenwood from the fray, keeping “in mind the close relationship that the UK and India always enjoyed and will continue to enjoy”. The MEA said it appreciated UK’s decision.

Bhandari (70), a former Supreme Court Judge, who was first elected to the ICJ in 2012, would start his fresh term in February next along with four other judges.

This is for the first time since the ICJ was set up in 1945 at the Hague that there will be no British Judge. Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed it as a proud moment and credited External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her ministry’s officials for their efforts in ensuring Bhandari’s success. In a series of tweets, the PM expressed gratitude to members of the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council for “their support and trust in India.” Swaraj specially mentioned Akbaruddin in her tweet.

ICJ poll: UK pulls out

Justice Dalveer Bhandari and Justice Christopher Greenwood won majority in the General Assembly and the Security Council respectively, leading to a deadlock. But India was able to persuade the UK to withdraw its candidate.