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

The election, held at UN headquarters, required several rounds of voting to fill the fifth and final seat.Published On 4 Nov 20264 Nov 2026The United Nations has elected five judges to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for nine-year terms, as the court faces a record caseload, including South Africa’s genocide case against Israel over its war on Gaza.The vote was held on Tuesday at UN headquarters, with candidates requiring an absolute majority in both the General Assembly and the Security Council to win.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4From Morocco to South Africa, Israel election watched closely across Africalist 2 of 4Why is the US sanctioning the International Criminal Court?list 3 of 4Who is Navi Pillay, winner of the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize?list 4 of 4UK-Mauritius Chagos sovereignty deal stalls amid fears of further delaysend of listDapo Akande of the United Kingdom, Francois Alabrune of France, Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud of Jordan, Rena Lee of Singapore and Phoebe Okowa of Kenya were elected to the 15-member panel.Their terms are set to begin on February 6, 2027.The two UN bodies initially agreed on four candidates but failed to select a fifth. The Security C...