NewDelhi: President Ram Nath Kovind and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Tuesday congratulated Dalveer Bhandari for getting re-elected to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Bhandari got re-elected with the General Assembly rallying behind him in a show of strength that made Britain pull out of the race.
Taking to Twitter, President Kovind termed Bandari’s win as a “diplomatic milestone for India”.
“Congratulations to Justice Dalveer Bhandari for his re-election to the ICJ. A diplomatic milestone for India,” tweeted the President.
While External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj congratulated Bhandari, she lauded the efforts put in by the Indian officials at United Nations. She further said that Permanent Representative to UN, Syed Akbaruddin, deserved a special mention.
Congratulations to Justice Dalveer Bhandari on his re-election as a Judge of the ICJ. Huge efforts by Team – MEA. Syed Akbaruddin our Permanent Representative in UN deserves a special mention.
Bhandari’s re-election was made possible after Britain withdrew its candidate Christopher Greenwood.
It virtually became a contest between the Security Council and the General Assembly, with the former backing Greenwood and the latter voting in support of Bhandari.
According to an Indian diplomat, Britain ultimately had to bow down to the will of the majority.
The Council’s permanent members have traditionally had a judge in the ICJ, assuming it to be a matter of right. This time the 193-member Assembly asserted itself, forcing the Council to back down and put at risk the continuation of the ICJ perk of the permanent members.
In letters written to the Presidents Miroslav Lajcak of the Assembly and Sebastiano Cardi of the Council, Britain’s Permanent Representative Matthew Rycroft said that his country was withdrawing Greenwood’s candidature keeping “in mind the close relationship that the United Kingdom and India always enjoyed and will continue to enjoy”.
Bhandari’s election was a dramatic face-saving turn of fortunes for India, as he lost the Asian seat on the ICJ to Lebanese lawyer-turned-diplomat Nawaf Salam, who had been campaigning for two years and had the backing of the powerful Organisation of Islamic Cooperation with 55 members in the UN.
Bhandari got a second chance only because an unpopular Britain could not get an Assembly majority for a remaining judgeship requiring a runoff where the two chambers of the UN split in their voting.
Bureau Report
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