1946 International Court of Justice judges election

Last updated September 03, 2023

The 1946 International Court of Justice election took place on 6 February 1946 in Westminster Central Hall, London. This was the first ever election of Judges of the Court, one the six "principal organs" of the newly created United Nations. All 15 seats were to be filled.

Candidates

Qualifications

Article 2 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice provides that judges shall be elected "from among persons of high moral character, who possess the qualifications required in their respective countries for appointment to the highest judicial offices, or are jurisconsults of recognized competence in international law".

Nomination procedure

All States parties to the Statute of the ICJ had the right to propose candidates. Nominations of candidates for election to the ICJ are made by a group consisting of the members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), designated by that State. For this purpose, members of the PCA act in "national groups" (i.e. all the PCA members from any individual state). (In the case of UN member states not represented in the PCA, the state in question may select up to four individuals to be its "national group" for the purpose of nominating candidates to the ICJ). Every such "national group" may nominate up to four candidates, not more than two of whom shall be of their own nationality. Before making these nominations, each "national group" is recommended to consult its highest court of justice, its legal faculties and schools of law, and its national academies and national sections of international academies devoted to the study of law.

1946 nominees

The following candidates were nominated for the election: ^[1]

Candidates	Nominating national groups
Hildebrando Pompeu Pinto Accioli (Brazil)	Brazil
Eduardo Blanco Acevedo (Uruguay)	Uruguay
Mostafa Adl (Iran)	Iran
Nasrat al-Farisi [ar] (Iraq)	Iraq
Fares al-Khoury (Syria)	Syria, Iraq
Tawfiq al-Suwaidi (Iraq)	Iraq
Rafael Altamira (Spain)	France
Alejandro Álvarez (Chile)	Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Uruguay
Luis Anderson [es] (Costa Rica)	Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru
Philadelpho Azevedo (Brazil)	Brazil, Canada, Chile, Haiti, Lebanon, Paraguay
Abdel Hamid Badawi Pasha (Egypt)	Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria
Kenneth Hamilton Bailey (Australia)	Australia
Alfredo Baquerizo Moreno (Ecuador)	Ecuador
Jules Basdevant (France)	Belgium, Canada, France, Greece, Luxembourg, United States
Octavio Béeche Argüello [es] (Costa Rica)	Costa Rica
Cemil Bilsel (Turkey)	Turkey
James Leslie Brierly (United Kingdom)	Ethiopia
Antonio Sánchez de Bustamante y Sirven (Cuba)	Cuba, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama
Julián Ríos Cáceres [es]	Honduras
Choucri Cardahi [fr]	Lebanon
Victor Cauvin	Haiti
Cheng Tien-Hsi	Netherlands
Miguel Cruchaga Tocornal	El Salvador
Ahmad Matin-Daftari	Iran, Lebanon
Reginald Percy Basil Davis	South Africa
Francisco Delgado	Philippines
Eduardo Díez de Medina	El Salvador
Isidro Fabela Alfaro	Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay
Vladimír Fajnor [sk] (Czechoslovakia)	Czechoslovakia, Ukrainian SSR
Jose Falla Aris (Guatemala)	Guatemala (withdrawn)
Charles Fenwick (United States)	Venezuela
Manuel Gallego (Philippines)	Philippines
Arturo García Salazar [es] (Peru)	Peru
Jose Gustavo Guerrero (El Salvador)	Australia, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua
Green Hackworth (United States)	Nicaragua, Turkey, United States
Francois Petrus van den Heever (South Africa)	South Africa
Hsu Mo (Republic of China)	China, Philippines
Manley Hudson (United States)	Argentina, Canada, Chile, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Panama, Philippines
Cecil Hurst (United Kingdom)	France, Greece
Salih Jabr (Iraq)	Iraq (withdrawn)
Mariano Honrade de Joya (Philippines)	Philippines
Helge Klæstad (Norway)	Australia, Denmark, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway
Mihailo Konstantinović [sr] (Yugoslavia)	Byelorussian SSR, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia
Vladimir Mikhailovich Koretsky [ru] [ukr] [de] (Ukrainian SSR)^[2]	Ukrainian SSR
Jan Krčmář [cz] (Czechoslovakia)	Czechoslovakia
Sergei Borisovich Krylov (USSR)	Poland, USSR
Jerzy Langrod [pl] (Poland)	Poland, Ukrainian SSR, USSR
Abel Leger (Haiti)	Haiti
Arturo Logroño [es] (Dominican Republic)	Dominican Republic
Julián López Pineda [de] (Honduras)	Honduras
Carlos Lozano y Lozano (Colombia)	Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela
Arnold McNair (United Kingdom)	Argentina, Australia, Belgium, New Zealand, Turkey, United Kingdom
George Maridakis [gr] (Greece)	Greece
Martín C. Martínez (Uruguay)	Uruguay
Michael Myers (New Zealand)	New Zealand
Caracciolo Parra Pérez [es] (Venezuela)	Venezuela
Ivan Sergeyevich Peretersky [ru] (USSR)	USSR
Néstor Luis Pérez [es] (Venezuela)	Venezuela
Massimo Pilotti (Italy)	France
Luis Podestá Costa [es] (Argentina)	Argentina
Nikolai Nikolayevich Polyansky [ru] (Byelorussian SSR) ^[2]	Byelorussian SSR
Miguel Prado Solares (Guatemala)	Guatemala (withdrawn)
John Erskine Read (Canada)	Canada
Julio Salmón (Bolivia)	Bolivia
Muammer Raşit Seviğ [tr] (Turkey)	Turkey
Jean Spiropoulos (Greece)	Greece, United States
Cosme de la Torriente (Cuba)	Cuba
Manuel de Jesus Troncoso de la Concha (Dominican Republic)	Dominican Republic
José Macedonio Urquidi [es] (Bolivia)	Bolivia
Francisco José Urrutia (Colombia)	Colombia
Celso Ramon Velázquez [es] (Paraguay)	Paraguay
Jan Hendrik Willem Verzijl [nl] (Netherlands)	Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands
Manuel Vicente Villarán [es] (Peru)	Peru
Charles de Visscher (Belgium)	Argentina, Belgium, Ethiopia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, United Kingdom
Bohdan Winiarski (Poland)	Poland
Muhammad Zafarullah Khan (India)	India, United Kingdom
Maximo Zepeda (Nicaragua)	Nicaragua
Milovan Zoričić (Yugoslavia)	Ukrainian SSR, United Kingdom, USSR, Yugoslavia
Youssef Zulficar Pasha (Egypt)	Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria

Procedure

As the 1946 election was the first of its kind, some aspects of the rules of procedure were yet to be finalized.

According to the Statute, ICJ judges are elected through parallel procedures at the General Assembly and the Security Council. To be elected, a candidate must obtain an absolute majority of votes both in the General Assembly and in the Security Council.

At the time, 26 votes constituted an absolute majority in the General Assembly and 6 votes constituted an absolute majority in the Security Council (with no distinction being made between permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council).

Results

Vote 1

Candidates	General Assembly^[3] majority = 26	Security Council^[4] majority = 6
Hildebrando Pompeu Pinto Accioli	withdrew
Eduardo Blanco Acevedo	6	1
Mostafa Adl	13	1
Nasrat al-Farisi Nasrat al-Farisi [ar]	2	0
Fares al-Khoury	2	0
Rafael Altamira	9	1
Alejandro Álvarez	31	7
Luis Anderson [es]	9	1
Philadelpho Azevedo	31	9
Abdel Hamid Badawi Pasha	30	10
Kenneth Hamilton Bailey	18	6
Alfredo Baquerizo Moreno	0	0
Jules Basdevant	39	10
Octavio Béeche Argüello [es]	1	0
Cemil Bilsel	6	0
James Leslie Brierly	0	0
Antonio Sánchez de Bustamante y Sirven	6	0
Julián Ríos Cáceres [es]	9	0
Choucri Cardahi [fr]	0	0
Victor Cauvin	2	0
Cheng Tien-Hsi	withdrew
Miguel Cruchaga Tocornal	0	0
Ahmad Matin-Daftari	0	0
Reginald Percy Basil Davis	8	1
Francisco Delgado	13	0
Eduardo Díez de Medina	0	0
Isidro Fabela Alfaro	33	8
Vladimír Fajnor [sk]	1	0
Jose Falla Aris	withdrew
Charles Fenwick	0	0
Manuel Gallego	0	0
Arturo García Salazar [es]	0	0
Jose Gustavo Guerrero	34	6
Green Hackworth	32	8
Francois Petrus van den Heever	1	0
Hsu Mo	41	11
Manley Hudson	10	1
Cecil Hurst	2	0
Salih Jabr	withdrew
Mariano Honrade de Joya	2	1
Helge Klæstad	21	6
Mihailo Konstantinović [sr]	4	0
Vladimir Mikhailovich Koretsky [ru] [ukr] [de]	0	0
Jan Krčmář [cz]	3	0
Sergei Borisovich Krylov	34	11
Jerzy Langrod [pl]	2	0
Abel Leger	5	0
Arturo Logroño [es]	0	0
Julián López Pineda [de]	0	0
Carlos Lozano y Lozano	15	2
Arnold McNair	34	10
George Maridakis [gr]	1	0
Martín C. Martínez	1	0
Michael Myers	4	1
Caracciolo Parra Pérez [es]	14	1
Ivan Sergeyevich Peretersky [ru]	1	0
Néstor Luis Pérez [es]	1	2
Massimo Pilotti	0	1
Luis Podestá Costa [es]	30	5
Nikolai Nikolayevich Polyansky [ru]	1	0
Miguel Prado Solares	withdrew
John Erskine Read	27	8
Julio Salmón	0	0
Muammer Raşit Seviğ [tr]	1	0
Jean Spiropoulos	18	4
Cosme de la Torriente	2	0
Manuel de Jesus Troncoso de la Concha	0	0
José Macedonio Urquidi [es]	1	0
Francisco José Urrutia	0	0
Celso Ramon Velázquez [es]	1	0
Jan Hendrik Willem Verzijl [nl]	8	5
Manuel Vicente Villarán [es]	0	0
Charles de Visscher	40	9
Bohdan Winiarski	19	5
Muhammad Zafarullah Khan	27	4
Maximo Zepeda	6	0
Milovan Zoričić	26	8
Youssef Zulficar Pasha	0	0

Thirteen candidates received an absolute majority of votes in both bodies and were thus elected to the Court. Two seats were to be filled through further rounds of voting.

Further votes

(Candidates who did not obtain a single vote in any of the two bodies are not listed)

Candidates	General Assembly^[5]^[6] majority = 26			Security Council^[7] majority = 6
Mostafa Adl	0	1	1	1	0	0
Kenneth Hamilton Bailey	15	15	12	3	1	1
Cemil Bilsel	2	0	0	0	0	0
Julián Ríos Cáceres [es]	1	2	0	0	0	0
Francisco Delgado	2	4	1	0	0	0
Arturo García Salazar [es]	1	0	0	0	0	0
Manley Hudson	0	0	0	1	0	0
Helge Klæstad	16	30	-	5	8	-
Mihailo Konstantinović [sr]	0	0	1	0	0	0
Jerzy Langrod [pl]	1	0	0	0	0	0
Carlos Lozano y Lozano	1	0	0	0	0	0
Luis Podestá Costa [es]	4	3	1	0	0	0
Jean Spiropoulos	10	3	0	1	0	0
Jan Hendrik Willem Verzijl [nl]	11	8	0	3	1	2
Bohdan Winiarski	18	24	26	7	-	8
Muhammad Zafarullah Khan	15	11	7	2	1	0

At the second vote, Mr Winiarski obtained an absolute majority of votes in the Security Council, and no candidate could obtain an absolute majority of votes in the General Assembly.

After the second vote, debates followed both in the Council and the Assembly, seeking to clarify the procedure to be followed. The Statute provided that if vacancies remain after the first meeting, the two organs proceed, again independently of one another, at a second meeting and, if necessary, a third meeting to elect candidates by further ballots for seats remaining vacant, the results again being compared after the required number of candidates have obtained an absolute majority in each organ. If after the third meeting, one or more seats still remain unfilled, the General Assembly and the Security Council may form a joint conference consisting of six members, three appointed by each organ. This joint conference may, by an absolute majority, agree upon one name for each seat still vacant and submit the name for the respective acceptance of the General Assembly and the Security Council.

The discussion therefore arose as to whether each round of voting should count as one meeting, or whether several rounds of voting may be held at one meeting - in other words, whether the next round of voting at each body would constitute the third meeting following which a joint conference could be formed.

The General Assembly proceeded on the understanding that each round of voting is a separate meeting. At its third vote, Mr Klaestad received an absolute majority of votes.

The Security Council proceeded on the opposite understanding and took a third vote without the candidature of Mr Winiarski, who had obtained an absolute majority at the second vote. Mr Klaestad received an absolute majority of votes and was declated elected.

The Assembly then discussed whether a joint conference was to be formed, but decided to go on with the fourth round of voting. Mr Winiarski obtained an absolute majority of votes. The Security Council then proceeded on its fourth round of voting and confirmed an absolute majority of votes in favour of Mr Winiarski who was thus also elected.

In future elections, this procedure would be streamlined in order to avoid this sort of confusion.

Composition of the Court

Following the election, lots were drawn in order to determine which judges were to sit a nine-year term, a six-year term and a three-year term, so as to allow a re-election of one third of the judges every three years.^[8] The final composition of the Court, with indication of the length of judges' terms, was as follows:

Judge	Term starts / renewed	Term ends
Abdel Hamid Badawi Pasha	1946	1949
Hsu Mo	1946	1949
John Read	1946	1949
Bohdan Winiarski	1946	1949
Milovan Zoričić	1946	1949
Isidro Fabela Alfaro	1946	1952
Green Hackworth	1946	1952
Helge Klæstad	1946	1952
Sergei Krylov	1946	1952
Charles de Visscher	1946	1952
Alejandro Álvarez	1946	1955
Philadelpho Azevedo	1946	1955
Jules Basdevant	1946	1955
Jose Gustavo Guerrero	1946	1955
Arnold McNair	1946	1955

The election in order to fill vacancies that would open in 1949 were held in 1948, launching the now standard three-year cycle of ICJ elections.

Related Research Articles

The International Court of Justice, also called the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordance with international law and gives advisory opinions on international legal issues. The ICJ is the only international court that adjudicates general disputes between countries, with its rulings and opinions serving as primary sources of international law.

Abdul Gadire Koroma is a Sierra Leonean jurist. He was the ambassador of Sierra Leone to the United Nations between 1981 and 1985. He served two terms as judge at the International Court of Justice.

Joan E. Donoghue is an American lawyer, international legal scholar, former U.S. State Department official, and the current president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). She was first elected to the court in 2010, re-elected in 2014, and elected by the ICJ judges to be president of the ICJ in 2021. She is the third woman to be elected to the ICJ and the first American woman elected as president of the Court.

Julia Sebutinde is a Ugandan judge serving her second term on the International Court of Justice following her re-election on November 12, 2020. She also is the current chancellor of Muteesa I Royal University, a university owned by Buganda kingdom. She has been a judge on the court since March 2012. She is the first African woman to sit on the ICJ. Before being elected to the ICJ, Sebutinde was a judge of the Special Court for Sierra Leone. She was appointed to that position in 2007.

The 2011 International Court of Justice election began on 10 November 2011 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. In the set of triennial elections, the General Assembly and the Security Council concurrently elect five judges to the Court for nine-year terms, in this case beginning on 6 February 2012. From the eight candidates, the five winners were Giorgio Gaja (Italy), Hisashi Owada (Japan), Peter Tomka (Slovakia), Xue Hanqin (China) and Julia Sebutinde (Uganda).

The 1993 United Nations Security Council election was held on 29 October 1993 during the Forty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected Argentina, the Czech Republic, Nigeria, Oman, and Rwanda, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 1994. Oman and Rwanda were elected for the first time ever, while the Czech Republic was elected for the first time as a separate country after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.

The 1984 United Nations Security Council election was held from 22 October to 18 December 1984 during the Thirty-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected Australia, Denmark, Madagascar, Thailand, and Trinidad and Tobago, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 1985. Madagascar, Thailand and Trinidad and Tobago were elected to Council for the first time.

The 1980 United Nations Security Council election was held from 20 October to 13 November 1980 during the Thirty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected Ireland, Japan, Panama, Spain, and Uganda, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 1981.

The 1978 United Nations Security Council election was held on 10 November 1978 during the Thirty-third session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected Bangladesh, Jamaica, Norway, Portugal, and Zambia, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 1979. Notably, Bangladesh, Jamaica and Portugal were elected members of the council for the first time.

The 1975 United Nations Security Council election was held on between 20 October and 23 October 1975 during the Thirtieth session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly elected Dahomey, Libya, Pakistan, Panama, and Romania, as the five new non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for two-year mandates commencing on 1 January 1976. Benin and Libya were elected for the first time.

The 2014 International Court of Justice election began on 6 November 2014 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. In the set of triennial elections, the General Assembly and the Security Council concurrently elect five judges to the Court for nine-year terms, in this case beginning on 6 February 2015.

The 2017 International Court of Justice election took place from 9 to 20 November 2017 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. In the set of triennial elections, the General Assembly and the Security Council concurrently elect five judges to the Court for nine-year terms, in this case beginning on 6 February 2018. From the seven candidates, the five winners were Abdulqawi Yusuf (Somalia), Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade (Brazil), Nawaf Salam (Lebanon), Ronny Abraham (France) and Dalveer Bhandari (India).

The 2020 International Court of Justice election were held on 11 and 12 November 2020 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. In the set of triennial elections, the General Assembly and the Security Council concurrently elect five judges to the Court for nine-year terms, in this case beginning on 6 February 2021. From the eight candidates, Yuji Iwasawa (Japan), Xue Hanqin (China), Peter Tomka (Slovakia), Julia Sebutinde (Uganda), and Georg Nolte (Germany) have been elected members of the International Court of Justice for a term of office of nine years, as both the Security Council and the General Assembly have agreed on the same candidates.

The 2018 International Court of Justice election was held on 22 June 2018 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly and the Security Council concurrently elected Yuji Iwasawa (Japan) to the International Court of Justice until 5 February 2021. He served the remainder of the nine-year term of office that had been held by Hisashi Owada (Japan), whose resignation from the Court took effect on 7 June 2018.

The 2021 International Court of Justice election was held on 5 November 2021 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly and the Security Council concurrently elected Hilary Charlesworth (Australia) to the International Court of Justice for remainder of the nine-year term of office that had been held by Judge James Crawford (Australia).

The 2022 International Court of Justice election was held on 4 November 2022 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The General Assembly and the Security Council concurrently elected Leonardo Nemer Caldeira Brant for remainder of the nine-year term of office that had been held by Judge Antônio Cançado Trindade, who died in May, 2022.

The 2023 International Court of Justice election is scheduled to be held on 9 November 2023 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. In the set of triennial elections, the General Assembly and the Security Council concurrently elect five judges to the Court for nine-year terms.

The 1948 International Court of Justice election took place on 22 October 1948 in the Palais de Chaillot, Paris. This was the second ever election of Judges of the Court, one the six "principal organs" of the United Nations, and the first one to be held in order to fill five judges' seats. It thus launched the pattern of triennial elections whereby the General Assembly and the Security Council concurrently elect five judges to the Court for nine-year terms, in this case beginning on 6 February 1949.

The 1951 International Court of Justice election took place on 6 December 1951 at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris. This was the third election of Judges of the Court, one the six "principal organs", and the second one to be held in order to fill five judges' seats. It thus continued the pattern of triennial elections whereby the General Assembly and the Security Council concurrently elect five judges to the Court for nine-year terms, in this case beginning on 6 February 1952.

The 1954 International Court of Justice election took place on 7 October 1954 at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York. In the set of triennial elections, the General Assembly and the Security Council concurrently elect five judges to the Court for nine-year terms, in this case beginning on 6 February 1955. In this particular case, a sixth vacancy was to be filled due to the death of one of the judges.

References

↑ "UN document A/8. Election of members of the International Court of Justice: list of candidates nominated by the national groups" (PDF). United Nations.
1 2 The Ukrainian SSR and the Byelorussian SSR, constituent republics of the Soviet Union, enjoyed UN membership in their own right
↑ "UN document A/PV.23. General Assembly. 23rd plenary meeting" (PDF). United Nations.
↑ "UN document S/PV.9. Security Council. Official records. 9th meeting" (PDF). United Nations.
↑ "UN document A/PV.24. General Assembly. 24th plenary meeting" (PDF). United Nations.
↑ "UN document A/PV.25. General Assembly. 25th plenary meeting" (PDF). United Nations.
↑ "UN document S/PV.9. Security Council. Official records. 9th meeting" (PDF). United Nations.
↑ "UN document A/PV.26. General Assembly. 26th plenary meeting" (PDF). United Nations.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "UN document A/8. Election of members of the International Court of Justice: list of candidates nominated by the national groups" (PDF). United Nations.

[UKR-2] 1 2 The Ukrainian SSR and the Byelorussian SSR, constituent republics of the Soviet Union, enjoyed UN membership in their own right

[3] "UN document A/PV.23. General Assembly. 23rd plenary meeting" (PDF). United Nations.

[4] "UN document S/PV.9. Security Council. Official records. 9th meeting" (PDF). United Nations.

[5] "UN document A/PV.24. General Assembly. 24th plenary meeting" (PDF). United Nations.

[6] "UN document A/PV.25. General Assembly. 25th plenary meeting" (PDF). United Nations.

[7] "UN document S/PV.9. Security Council. Official records. 9th meeting" (PDF). United Nations.

[8] "UN document A/PV.26. General Assembly. 26th plenary meeting" (PDF). United Nations.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]