A/77/PV.29 General Assembly

The General Assembly will now turn to the election of a member of the International Court of Justice for the remainder of the term of office of Judge Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade, which would have expired on 5 February 2027. I should like to draw the attention of the Assembly to the following documents relating to the election: document A/77/481, which contains a memorandum by the Secretary-General on the present composition of the Court and the procedure to be followed in the General Assembly and in the Security Council with regard to the election; document A/77/482, which contains the list of candidates nominated by national groups; and document A/77/483, which contains the curricula vitae of the candidates nominated by national groups. In that connection, I have been informed by the Legal Counsel that, after the established deadline for nominating candidates, additional nominations with respect to candidates whose names already appear in document A/77/482 were received. The additional nominations in question are from the national group of Sri Lanka with regard to the candidacy of Leonardo Nemer Caldeira Brant (Brazil) and from the national groups of Costa Rica and Germany with regard to the candidacy of Marcelo Gustavo Kohen (Argentina). The names of the following three candidates will appear on the ballot papers: Leonardo Nemer Caldeira Brant (Brazil), Paulo Borba Casella (Brazil) and Marcelo Gustavo Kohen (Argentina). I should like to confirm that the General Assembly and the Security Council will proceed, independently of each other, to elect a member of the Court to fill the vacancy in accordance with Article 8 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice. This election in the Assembly will be held in accordance with the Statute of the Court, in particular Articles 2 to 4, 7 to 12 and 14, and rules 150 and 151 of the rules of procedure of the General Assembly. According to Article 2 of the Statute, members of the Court are to be elected regardless of their nationality from among persons of high moral character who possess the qualifications required in their respective countries for appointment to the highest judicial offices, or are jurisconsults of recognized competence in international law. Article 9 requires electors to bear in mind not only that the person to be elected should individually possess the qualifications required, but also that in the body as a whole the representation of the main forms of civilization and of the principal legal systems of the world should be ensured. The candidate who obtains an absolute majority of votes both in the General Assembly and in the Security Council will be considered as elected, pursuant to Article 10, paragraph 1, of the Statute. The consistent practice of the United Nations has been to interpret the words “absolute majority” as meaning a majority of all electors, whether or not they vote or are allowed to vote. The electors in the General Assembly will be all 193 Member States. Accordingly, 97 votes constitute an absolute majority in the Assembly for the purpose of the present election. Only those candidates whose names appear on the ballot papers are eligible for election. The electors in the General Assembly will indicate the candidate for whom they wish to vote by placing a cross against the name on the ballot paper. Each elector may vote for only one candidate. In accordance with Articles 5 and 7 of the Statute, no additional candidates may be nominated on the day of the elections. At the 915th plenary meeting of the General Assembly, on 16 November 1960, a procedural discussion was held as to whether rule 94, which was then rule 96, of the rules of procedure of the Assembly should be applied in elections to the International Court of Justice. That rule lays down a procedure for restricted ballots in the event that after the first ballot, the requisite number of candidates have not obtained the required majority. By 47 votes to 27, with 25 abstentions, the Assembly decided that the rule did not apply to elections to the Court and proceeded to elect the requisite number of candidates by a series of unrestricted ballots. That decision has been followed consistently. Accordingly, if in the first ballot in the General Assembly no candidate receives an absolute majority, a second ballot will be held, and balloting will continue at the same meeting until the candidate has obtained the required majority, pursuant to rule 151 of the rules of procedure of the Assembly. When a candidate has obtained an absolute majority in the Assembly, the President of the Assembly will notify the President of the Security Council accordingly. Such notification will not be communicated by the President of the Security Council to its members until one candidate has received the required majority of votes in the Council. Upon the exchange of notifications between the General Assembly and the Security Council informing each other that the same candidate has received the absolute majority in both the General Assembly and the Security Council, each organ will announce that the candidate has been elected. If, upon comparison of the name of the candidate so selected by the General Assembly and the Security Council, it is found that a candidate has not been thus elected pursuant to Article 10, paragraph 1, of the Statute, the Assembly and the Council will proceed, again independently of one another, to a second meeting and, if necessary, a third meeting to elect a candidate, the results again being compared after a candidate has obtained an absolute majority in each organ. If, however, after the third meeting the vacancy remains unfilled, the procedure set out in Article 12 of the Statute may be resorted to at the request of either the General Assembly or the Security Council. The first meeting held for the purpose of the election, as referred to in Article 11 of the Statute of the Court, will be adjourned upon the exchange of notifications and the announcement of the results in both organs. May I take it that the General Assembly agrees to these procedures at this election?

I should like to remind representatives that pursuant to rule 88 of the rules of procedure, “After the President has announced the beginning of voting, no representative shall interrupt the voting except on a point of order in connection with the actual conduct of the voting”. Any announcements, including those concerning withdrawals of candidatures, should therefore be made prior to the commencement of the voting process, that is to say, before the announcement of the beginning of the voting process. We shall now begin the voting process. Ballot papers will now be distributed. Ballot papers will be given only to the representative seated directly behind the country’s nameplate. Representatives are requested to use only the ballot papers that are now being distributed. Only those candidates whose names appear on the ballot papers are eligible. Representatives will indicate the one — I repeat, one  — candidate for whom they wish to vote by placing a cross at the left of the name on the ballot paper. Ballot papers on which more than one name is checked will be considered invalid. If a ballot paper contains any notation other than a vote in favour of an eligible candidate, those notations will be disregarded. If a mistake is made in filling out the ballot paper, delegations should request a new ballot paper from the Secretariat at the front of the General Assembly Hall.

The result of the voting is as follows: Number of ballot papers: 189 Number of invalid ballots: 1 Number of valid ballots: 188 Abstentions: 0 Number of members present and voting: 188 Absolute majority: 97 Number of individual votes obtained: Mr. Leonardo Nemer Caldeira Brant (Brazil) 121 Mr. Marcelo Gustavo Kohen (Argentina) 67 Mr. Paulo Borba Casella (Brazil) 0

Mr. Leonardo Nemer Caldeira Brant (Brazil) has obtained an absolute majority in the General Assembly. I have communicated the result of the voting to the President of the Security Council. I have received from the President of the Security Council the following letter: “I have the honour to inform you that at the 9182nd meeting of the Security Council, held on 4 November 2022 for the purpose of electing one member of the International Court of Justice to fill the seat that became vacant on 29 May 2022, Mr. Leonardo Nemer Caldeira Brant (Brazil) obtained an absolute majority of votes in the Security Council”. As a result of the independent voting in the Security Council and in the General Assembly, Mr. Leonardo Nemer Caldeira Brant (Brazil) has obtained an absolute majority in both organs. He is therefore duly elected a member of the International Court of Justice to serve for a term of office commencing today, 4 November 2022, and ending on 5 February 2027. I take this opportunity to extend to him the congratulations of the Assembly on his election and to thank the tellers for their assistance. May I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to conclude its consideration of sub-item (c) of agenda item 116?