Dalveer Bhandari re-elected as ICJ judge; UK says pleased to see 'close friend' India win

India's nominee Dalveer Bhandari was re-elected as the fifth judge to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) after the United Kingdom withdrew the nomination of Christopher Greenwood on Monday.

Bhandari received 183-193 votes in the General Assembly and secured all the 15 votes in the Security Council after separate and simultaneous elections were held at the UN headquarters in New York.

Expressing her happiness over the victory of Indian nominee at the ICJ election, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj took to her Twitter page to say, "Vande Matram - India wins election to the International Court of Justice. JaiHind. #ICJ"

Vande Matram - India wins election to the International Court of Justice. JaiHind. #ICJ

— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) November 20, 2017

On November 9, the UNGA and Security Council members had elected judges to four of the five seats up for re-election this year, with the fate of candidates from India and the UK hanging in the balance. The UK had tried use every trick in the trade to ensure that India's nominee did not make it to the ICJ.

A vote that brings cheer to a billion
India's nominee Judge Bhandari re-elected to ICJ
General Assembly 183
Security Council 15
pic.twitter.com/ycclYQ7tcI

— Syed Akbaruddin (@AkbaruddinIndia) November 20, 2017

Justice Bhandari will be among the judges who will hear the pending case pertaining to India's Kulbhushan Jadhav, currently in a Pakistan jail.

Britain's withdrawal from the election to the prestigious world court would mean that there will not be a British judge on the UN's most powerful court for the first time in its history. 

Meanwhile, Britain has congratulated Justice Dalveer Bhandari on being re-elected to the International Court of Justice and said it will continue to cooperate closely with India at the United Nations and globally.

Britain's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Matthew Rycroft, in a statement said, "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."

"We will continue to cooperate closely with India, here in the United Nations and globally," he said.

Based in The Hague, the ICJ has a bench of 15 judges, five of whom are elected every three years for a nine-year term.

Established in 1945, the role of the ICJ is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by states and to give advisory opinions on legal questions.