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UN elects four judges to International Court of Justice, one from Russia

Kirill Gevorgian, James Richard Crawford, Mohamed Bennouna, and Joan E. Donoghue received the majority of votes

Kirill Gevorgian (left) ITAR-TASS/Dmitry Astakhov

Kirill Gevorgian (left)

© ITAR-TASS/Dmitry Astakhov

UNITED NATIONS, November 7. /TASS/. The UN General Assembly and Security Council elected four judges to serve on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday.

Kirill Gevorgian of Russia, James Richard Crawford of Australia, Mohamed Bennouna of Morocco, and Joan E. Donoghue of the United States received the majority of votes and were elected to nine-year terms.

Candidates from eight countries competed for five seats on the International Court of Justice and the fifth judge is still to be elected at meetings of the General Assembly and Security Council on Friday.

The International Court of Justice was established in 1946 and is one of the six main bodies of the United Nations. Based in The Hague /the Netherlands/, it settles disputes between the countries and gives advisory rulings to other UN bodies.

The ICJ is composed of 15 judges, including president and vice-president, elected for the nine-year terms. Every three years a third of the Court is elected to ensure succession in the Court composition.

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