Former President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday congratulated Judge Dalveer Bhandari on being re-elected to the International Court of Justice (ICJ)…
Former President Pranab Mukherjee (Photo: Twitter)
Former President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday congratulated Judge Dalveer Bhandari on being re-elected to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and termed it a “major diplomatic victory” for India.
In a tweet, Mukherjee said: “Congratulations Justice #DalveerBhandari on re-election to the #InternationalCourtOfJustice. This is truly a victorious moment for India.”
“The broad support Justice Bhandari received is a major diplomatic victory for the country,” he said.
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Judge Bhandari was re-elected to the ICJ on Monday as the General Assembly rallied behind him in a show of strength that made Britain bow to the majority and withdraw its candidate Christopher Greenwood.
The withdrawal of its candidate by Britain, which had the backing of its fellow permanent members, was a setback for the Security Council that had been locked in a test of wills with the Assembly.
A candidate has to win a majority in both the chambers. Bhandari won majorities in the Assembly in the first 11 rounds of voting over two meetings, while the Council blocked his election by giving majorities to Greenwood in the ten rounds of balloting it held.
Bhandari’s election was a dramatic face-saving turn of fortunes for India, as he lost the Asian seat on the ICJ to Lebanese lawyer-turned-diplomat Nawaf Salam, who had been campaigning for two years and had the backing of the powerful Organisation of Islamic Cooperation with 55 members in the UN.
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