International Criminal Court:
First Judges Elected, with Regional and Gender Balance
NEW YORK – The first 18 judges for the International Criminal
Court were elected at the United Nations last Friday
“This is a major step toward making the ICC a functioning
and effective Court. Eighteen highly qualified judges have been
elected,” said Fiona McKay, Director of the International
Justice Program at Human Rights First.
The eighteen judges include:
- Seven women and 11 men
- Four from Latin America, three from Asia, seven from Western
Europe (and Canada), one from Eastern Europe, and three from Africa
- Ten with criminal law expertise and eight with international
law expertise
A minimum voting requirement obliged each state to vote for a certain
number of candidates based upon gender, regional representation, and
legal expertise. This is the first time such a system has been used.
“We have learned that this is a voting procedure that works
in assuring gender and regional representation,” added McKay.
“There will be more women judges sitting on this Court than
any international tribunal in history. And it is of tremendous importance
to this court that every region of the world be represented on its
bench.”
The judges will be sworn in on March 11, to be followed by the
election of the Prosecutor in April. The Assembly confirmed that
the nomination period for the Prosecutor will be open between March
24 and April 4.
The following judges were elected:
| France |
Claude Jorda |
term of 6 years |
| Samoa |
Tuiloma Neroni Slade |
term of 3 years |
| Italy |
Mauro Politi |
term of 6 years |
| Bolivia |
Rene Blattmann |
term of 6 years |
| United Kingdom |
Adrian Fulford |
term of 9 years |
| Latvia |
Anita Usacka |
term of 3 years |
| Germany |
Hans-Peter Kaul |
term of 3 years |
| Canada |
Philippe Kirsch |
term of 6 years |
| Finland |
Erkki Kourula |
term of 3 years |
| Cyprus |
Gheorghios M. Pikis |
term of 6 years |
| Trinidad and Tobago |
Karl T. Hudson-Phillips |
term of 9 years |
| Ghana |
Akua Kuenyehia |
term of 3 years |
| Mali |
Fatoumata Dembele Diarra |
term of 9 years |
| South Africa |
Navanethem Pillay |
term of 6 years |
| The Rep. of Korea |
Sang-hyun Song |
term of 3 years |
| Brazil |
Sylvia H. de Figueiredo Steiner |
term of 9 years |
| Costa Rica |
Elizabeth Odio Benito |
term of 9 years |
| Ireland |
Maureen Harding Clark |
term of 9 years |
The International Criminal Court was established in July 1998 as
a permanent international court with a mandate to bring to justice
individuals who have committed genocide, war crimes, and crimes
against humanity. The United States, which has not ratified the
treaty creating the Court, is not a participant in the elections
process. “We continue to urge the United States to support
and engage with the ICC,” said McKay. “But as you can
see here today, this Court is happening anyway, with or without
the United States.”
For a day-by-day full tally of the election results, click
here
For background on the elections and the ICC, click
here
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