When Dalveer Bhandari was born on October 1, 1946 in Jodhpur, India was still a colony of the British Empire. On November 20, when he was re-elected as a judge on the International Court of Justice (ICJ), displacing a British judge, it signified the change in global politics in the intervening years. This is the first time in the seven-decade history of the ICJ and the United Nations that the United Kingdom does not have a judge on the ICJ.
When did he first join ICJ?
Bhandari was first elected to the ICJ — the principal judicial organ of the U.N. — in 2012 for the remainder term of a judge who quit prematurely. The ICJ has 15 judges who serve for nine years; and five of them retire every three years. Judge Bhandari’s new full term of nine years will begin on February 6, 2018. After the election in New York, Judge Bhandari left for The Hague, Netherlands, where the court is located. Of the six principal organs of the U.N., the ICJ is the only one not located in New York.
Judge Bhandari was a sitting judge of the Supreme Court of India, when the government nominated him as candidate for the ICJ first. He defeated the candidate of the Philippines then. This year, his contest with the U.K’s sitting judge Christopher Greenwood ended up in a dead heat as he won in the U.N. General Assembly and the latter won in the Security Council in repeated rounds of voting. A candidate has to win an absolute majority in both to get elected. As the U.K. realised that it could not pull it off, it withdrew its candidate, paving the way for judge Bhandari’s election.
What is he known for?
Judge Bhandari was the chairperson of the Delhi Centre of the International Law Association for several years. Before he was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court on October 28, 2005, he served as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. His landmark judgment in a divorce case that held that irretrievable breakdown of marriage can be a ground for divorce has nudged the Union government, which is seriously considering his suggestion for amendment of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. He has been selected as one of the 15 most illustrious and distinguished alumni in the 150-year history of the Northwestern University School of Law, Chicago, where he completed his Masters of Law in 1971.
Though there is no formal requirement as such, there is an unstated agreement among the U.N. members on the distribution of judges. Out of the 15 judges, the distribution is three for Africa, two for Latin America, three for Asia, five for Western Europe and other countries and two for Eastern Europe. And each of the five permanent members of the Security Council — P-5 — is always represented on the Bench, till now. This helps the ICJ to seek resolution of a dispute brought before it, rather than adjudicating the facts and fairness of the case.
What does his election mean?
Judge Bhandari’s election upsets the power equation in the U.N. and is a sign of the changing times. Developing countries voted for him in overwhelming numbers, forcing the developed countries to take note of the reality, and ultimately forcing the U.K. to exit from the race. India has been arguing for decades that the U.N. does not represent the changed world, and it could lose its relevance if it does not change. But the P-5 members have been lukewarm to the idea of expanding the Security Council and other reforms at the U.N. Judge Bhandari’s election, despite the strong resistance by the U.K., with the support of other permanent members and Japan is a reminder that the U.N. order as it stands today cannot remain unchallenged. “Britain’s removal from the ICJ indicates a wider power struggle,” said The Times , in an editorial. “…the court has a vital role in preserving the rule of international law, and the U.K. is diminished by its absence from the bench...” it said.
Indian judges in the ICJ in the past were Justice B.N. Rao (1950s), Dr. Nagendra Singh (1970-80s) and Justice R.S. Pathak (1988-90). In 1991, Justice Pathak, a former Chief Justice of India, was re-nominated, but lost the election and thereafter India did not contest until 2012.
