The United Nations General Assembly and Security Council are voting Tuesday to elect five judges to the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the UN. The two bodies meet separately and apply the same candidate list under the Court's Statute. The election is being held at UN headquarters in New York, where other General Assembly committee work has been adjusted to allow delegations to participate.
A candidate must obtain an absolute majority in both the General Assembly and the Security Council. The votes are independent: support in one chamber cannot compensate for falling short in the other. Permanent Security Council members do not have a veto in this election, because ballots for judges are counted without distinction between permanent and elected members. If seats remain after the first round, additional rounds can be held.
The Court has 15 judges, and regular elections fill five seats every three years. Judges serve nine-year terms and may be reelected. Staggering the terms maintains continuity while changing one-third of the bench at a time. The Statute directs electors to consider each candidate's qualifications and the representation of the world's principal legal systems and forms of civilization across the Court as a whole.
National groups associated with the Permanent Court of Arbitration nominate candidates rather than governments simply appointing them to the bench. The Secretary-General then circulates the nomination material and procedural memorandum. The UN's November 3 document list identifies the election memorandum and the list of nominations as joint Security Council and General Assembly documents, giving both voting bodies a common formal record.
The International Court of Justice decides legal disputes submitted by states and gives advisory opinions when authorized UN bodies request them. It is distinct from the International Criminal Court, which prosecutes individuals under a separate treaty. An ICJ judge does not represent a government in a case. Members are elected in their individual capacity and are expected to exercise independent judicial functions under the Statute.
The composition of the bench can matter for institutional experience, legal traditions and public confidence, but Tuesday's vote does not decide any pending dispute. Cases continue under the Court's procedures, and judges whose terms end may finish matters they have already begun as the Statute permits. New terms resulting from a regular election begin on the prescribed date, rather than immediately rewriting rulings or reopening completed judgments.
The election can require several ballots because a candidate must clear both thresholds. A name that wins an Assembly majority but not a Council majority is not elected, and vice versa. The official outcome should therefore be taken from the meeting records and UN decision documents after the concurrent process concludes. Informal tallies or endorsements before the vote do not establish a seat on the Court.
Tuesday's proceedings are a recurring but consequential part of the international legal system. They distribute selection authority between the universal Assembly and the smaller Council, preventing either body from choosing judges alone. The five successful candidates will join a bench that handles disputes involving borders, treaties, diplomatic relations and state responsibility. The result will shape the Court's membership through the next nine-year cycle while leaving its jurisdiction grounded in the Charter and Statute. Official records will supply the names, vote sequence and start of terms once the ballots are complete.
Primary sources: United Nations schedule of November 3 events; Statute of the International Court of Justice; United Nations daily document list. Reviewed November 3, 2026. Development: Election scheduled November 3, 2026.