Russia is not elected to the International Court of Justice for the first time

The General Assembly and the UN Security Council have elected five judges to serve on the International Court of Justice. There is no representative of Russia among them.

The UN press service reports.

Hilary Charlesworth of Australia, who currently serves on the International Court of Justice, was re-elected. Four new judges were also elected: Bogdan-Lucian Aurescu (Romania), Sarah Hull Cleveland (United States), Juan Manuel Gómez Robledo Verduzco (Mexico), and Dire Tladi (South Africa).

However, the General Assembly and the Security Council did not re-elect Kirill Gevorgian of Russia, who has been a judge at the International Court of Justice since 2015.

The International Court of Justice, which resolves legal disputes between states, consists of 15 judges who serve nine-year terms. At the same time, five of its seats are up for election every three years.

The newly-elected Judges will begin serving on February 6, 2024.

"For the first time in the history of the UN, its member states have denied Russia the right to seek justice on their behalf at the International Court of Justice. The world sees who destroys international law instead of defending it," said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN, Serhii Kyslytsia, also reacted to the events. He said that Russia had failed to get 5-6 votes in all five rounds of the Security Council.

"For the first time since 1946, Moscow has been told to withdraw from the International Court of Justice. And how!" Kyslytsia wrote.

It will be recalled that on September 18, the International Court of Justice resumed hearings in the case of Ukraine against Russia. The case concerns Russia's misinterpretation and application of the 1948 Convention and its justification of the war against Ukraine as an alleged "genocide against the Russian-speaking population in Donetsk and Luhansk regions".