The re-election of Justice Dalveer Bhandari as the 15th and last member of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) could be seen as an indication of growing cooperation among countries other than the permanent five in the United Nations. Justice Bhandari was elected as Britain had to bow to the majority and withdraw its candidate Christopher Greenwood from fray. The fact that the British candidate had to back out despite enjoying the support of other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has given the P-5 some cause for worry, and rightly so. These countries were enjoying membership of the ICJ almost as if it were a right. Victory for the Indian judge in this instance, despite efforts by the UK to prevent it, has wider implications for the international organisation and by some counts may even pave the way for India’s membership in the UNSC. It must be noted here that the desperation that India is constantly displaying in the matter of the seat at the UNSC is, probably, driving the target away from achievement.
Justice Bhandari’s election was not without its share of drama. The judge had been pipped to the post by Nawaf Salam at the election to the Asian seat. The Lebanese lawyer-turned-diplomat had been campaigning for two years and was backed by the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, which has 55 members in the UN. But Bhandari got his second chance with Britain deciding to exit from the fray in the general assembly. The UK did try to block Bhandari’s way to ICJ judgeship by pushing for a joint conference mechanism that was last applied 96 years ago. Matthew Rycroft, the UK’s permanent representative at the UN, in a letter announcing the decision to withdraw Greenwood’s candidature pointed out that it was wrong to continue to take up valuable time of the Security Council and the general assembly with further rounds of elections, as round after round was getting stalemated.
One-third of the ICJ’s 15-member bench is elected every three years for a nine-year term. The elections for these seats are held separately but simultaneously in the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council in New York. The candidate who obtains the majority in both the General Assembly (97 votes) and Security Council (eight votes) wins the election. In the case of Greenwood and Bhandari, the election went on for 11 rounds before the UK decided to withdraw Greenwood from the race. In a previous round of voting about a week ago, Bhandari had won 121 votes to Greenwood’s 68 at the general assembly. In the UN Security Council though, the British candidate won nine votes against Bhandari’s five. The defeat of Greenwood brought an unbroken stint of the UK in the international court of justice to an end and it is the first time in the 71-year history of the court that the international court of justice will not have a judge from the UK. The defeat has been viewed as a humiliating blow to British international prestige and an acceptance of a diminished status in international affairs by British media such as ‘The Guardian’.
The defeat of UK, though, cannot be attributed solely to cooperation among countries other than permanent members. While there were strong sentiments against the dominance and privileges of permanent members, another factor that went against Greenwood was that the Blair government had followed his advice in the run-up to the Iraq invasion in 2003. After examining arguments over the legality of using force against Saddam Hussein as instructed by then attorney general Lord Goldsmith, Greenwood had concluded that the use of force was justified. There is also speculation that trade relations India has with Britain may have prompted Britain to withdraw from the race.
Whatever the reasons may be, the development has unnerved the other permanent members of the UNSC. With Britain losing its place in the ICJ, there were fears that their power might be challenged in the future. In the wider interests of the world, it is a positive development that needs to be appreciated and embraced. India, however, must not get carried away by this tempting victory and should try to create goodwill amongst member nations for long term benefits in the field of international judicial activities. Bhandari, as an individual, could contribute immensely in that effort.
