In a major diplomatic victory, one that also cements India's growing clout on the world stage, Justice Dalveer Bhandari was re-elected to the International Court of Justice. What makes the win more significant is the fact that his opponent — Christopher Greenwood of the United Kingdom – withdrew from the contest, at the proverbial last minute.
Also, this would be the first time that Britain, a veto-empowered permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), wouldn't have any representation on the ICJ.
Justice Bhandari's win saw India pull out all stops to ensure his victory, with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj herself contacting almost 100 of her counterparts, mostly from African and Latin American countries.
PM Narendra Modi tweeted, "Congratulations to EAM @SushmaSwaraj and her entire team at MEA & diplomatic missions for their untiring efforts that have led to India's re-election to ICJ.
The British said they decided to withdraw Greenwood's candidature after concluding that it would be "wrong to continue to take up the time of the Security Council and the UN General Assembly with further rounds of elections."
"We are naturally disappointed, but it was a competitive field with six strong candidates... If the UK could not win in this run-off, then we are pleased that it is a close friend like India that has done so instead," Matthew Rycroft, Britain's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said in a statement.
"The extraordinary support from the UN membership is reflective of the respect for strong constitutional integrity of the Indian polity and the independence of the judiciary in India," said a senior government functionary.
However, it was a hard-fought victory. Sources said senior officials of MEA were in constant touch with envoys of developing countries stationed in New Delhi.
"They had all assured support, but were sceptical if India would be able to get enough support in the 15-member UNSC dominated by world powers," a source said.
For a victory, it was necessary to get majority support both at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) as well as at the UNSC.
After former Navy official Kulbhushan Jadhav's case, currently on death row in Pakistan, reached the ICJ, there was an understanding that having an Indian nominee in the ICJ was a priority. Insiders said that till early 2017, South Block mandarins weren't too sure if India should go all-out to clinch a fresh nomination, with the prevailing assessment being that there victory would be almost impossible, especially with the UK and other countries joining the race.
However, after Jadhav's case came up before ICJ, New Delhi decided to go the whole hog. Bhandari's nomination was officially backed by India, Australia, Bangladesh, Colombia and Israel.
In the run up to the vote, in a carefully crafted strategy involving Modi, Swaraj, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar and the India's representative at the UN Syed Akbaruddin, India sought to enlist the support of other countries raising the issue of democratic process.
Sources here said that the lobbying began at the G-20 meeting in Hamburg in July, when Modi solicited support for Bhandari in all his interactions with foreign leaders. He also sought support from BRICS leaders during the summit in Xiamen, China, and then raised the issue again during his bilateral trip to Myanmar, while calling for a just international order.
Swaraj, who led an Indian delegation to the UNGA annual session, stayed in New York in September for seven days to canvass support for Justice Bhandari. Sources confirmed that instructions were sent out to envoys to "ensure that Justice Bhandari's candidature found mention at India's diplomatic interactions, whether they involve just diplomats or the country's top leaders."
"We convinced countries that the democratic process should be allowed to play its full course in both the Security Council and the General Assembly and there should not be an intervention or adoption of a process that has never been used before or the one that undermines the voice of the majority," officials said.
The strategy clicked with a number of developing countries pledging their support to India against the nominee of a former colonial power.
Admitting that there were pulls, pressures and allurements, asking India to withdraw its candidature in favour of Greenwood, sources said the same were firmly turned down.
As lobbying intensified, the campaign took an ugly turn with Greenwood's supporters trying to break Bhandari's support in the Assembly by carrying out a stealth campaign to make it appear that India was giving up.
Indian officials maintained that voting in the General Assembly which overwhelmingly favoured Bhandari was reflective of the new global order.
Apart from the Prime Minister, President Ram Nath Kovind, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu and BJP president Amit Shah also congratulated Justice Bhandari.
JUSTICE BHANDARI: A BIO
- Judge at ICJ from June 2012-till date
- Judge of the Supreme Court of India from October 2005 to May 2012
- Practised law in the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court and Rajasthan High Court
- Chief Justice of Maharashtra and Goa from July 2004-October 2005
- His re-election is also important because the final judgment of ICJ on India’s plea to be given consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, who has been in Pakistani custody over allegations of being an Indian spy, will be delivered in December.
- Judge in Delhi High Court from March 1991
- Pakistan recently appointed an ad-hoc judge to the ICJ for the case
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 "Justice Dalveer Bhandari")
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