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The UN General Assembly and Security Council elected five judges to the International Court of Justice on Tuesday for nine-year terms beginning Feb. 6, 2027.
The newly elected judges are Dapo Akande of the UK, Francois Alabrune of France, Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud of Jordan, Rena Lee of Singapore and Phoebe Okowa of Kenya.
Under the court’s statute, candidates must secure an absolute majority in both the General Assembly and the Security Council to win a seat.
Four candidates – Akande, Alabrune, Hmoud and Lee – secured the required majorities in both bodies and were elected in the first round.
The contest for the fifth seat required additional rounds of voting after the General Assembly and Security Council failed to agree on the same candidate.
Ecuador’s Marcelo Vazquez-Bermudez, who secured the necessary majority in the Security Council but fell short in the General Assembly, later withdrew from the race.
Okowa subsequently won the backing of both UN bodies, completing the election.
The five judges will take office as the terms of five current court members expire Feb. 5, 2027.
Based in The Hague, the Netherlands, the International Court of Justice is the UN’s principal judicial body.
The court hears legal disputes between states and issues advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized UN bodies.
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