Question map
Which of the following statements about the International Court of Justice is/are correct? 1. The Court consists of members, wherein two members cannot be nationals of the same State. 2. The General Assembly and the Security Council proceed independently of one another to elect the members of the Court.
Explanation
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. According to Article 3 of the ICJ Statute, the Court consists of fifteen members, and no two members may be nationals of the same State [1]. This ensures diverse geographical representation and prevents any single nation from dominating the bench [2]. Regarding the election process, Article 8 of the Statute explicitly states that the General Assembly and the Security Council proceed independently of one another to elect the members of the Court [1]. Candidates must obtain an absolute majority of votes in both bodies to be considered elected. These elections are held simultaneously but separately to maintain the integrity of the selection process [1]. Therefore, both statements provided in the question are correct according to the official Statute and operational procedures of the Court.
Sources
- [1] https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter/statute-of-the-international-court-of-justice
- [2] https://uncitral.un.org/sites/uncitral.un.org/files/media-documents/uncitral/ar/ctiti_nationality_and_representation.pdf