UN elects five judges to International Court of Justice amid record caseload

The United Nations has elected five judges to the International Court of Justice after several rounds of voting at UN headquarters in New York. The election filled all five available seats on the 15-member bench, with the final post decided only after additional ballots. The judges will serve nine-year terms at the world court, which is based in The Hague.

Dapo Akande of the United Kingdom, Francois Alabrune of France, Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud of Jordan, Rena Lee of Singapore and Phoebe Okowa of Kenya were chosen by the General Assembly and the Security Council. Candidates needed an absolute majority in both bodies to win, and the two chambers initially agreed on four names but could not settle the fifth. The Security Council backed Ecuador's Marcelo Vazquez-Bermudez, while the General Assembly supported Okowa, leading to further voting before Vazquez-Bermudez withdrew and Okowa secured the necessary backing.

The election comes as the court faces a record workload. ICJ President Yuji Iwasawa told the General Assembly on 29 October that 24 contentious cases are pending, covering disputes over territory, human rights and the interpretation of international treaties. Among the most closely watched is South Africa's case accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention in its war on Gaza, a case in which the court has already ordered provisional measures but has not yet ruled on the substance of the allegation.

The ICJ is the United Nations' principal judicial organ and plays a central role in resolving disputes between states. Its judges are elected in a way designed to balance the two main UN political bodies, with secret ballots held separately in the General Assembly and the Security Council. The staggered system, under which a third of the bench is elected every three years, is intended to preserve continuity while still allowing regular turnover.

The timing of the vote also matters because the court is handling several politically sensitive cases at once. In October 2025, it issued an advisory opinion setting out Israel's obligations towards the United Nations and humanitarian organisations operating in the occupied Palestinian territory. The court also said it will deliver a judgment on 19 November in The Gambia's case accusing Myanmar of genocide against the Rohingya minority, underlining the breadth of its current docket.

What remains unclear is how the new bench will shape the pace and direction of the court's work in the months ahead. The judges have not yet taken up their seats, and the pending cases will continue to test the court's capacity and authority. The next major date on the calendar is the 19 November judgment in the Myanmar case, which will be closely watched alongside the ongoing Gaza-related proceedings.

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