From November 11 to 12 local time, the judges of the International Court of Justice held a general election at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to fill the five vacant judge seats that will appear in 2021.

The current vice president of the International Court of Justice and Chinese judge Xue Hanqin was elected.

　　On the 11th, the UN General Assembly and the Security Council held a simultaneous vote. As the number of votes was not reached, the UN General Assembly held a second round of voting on the 12th.

On the same day, the UN General Assembly and the Security Council simultaneously announced the list of elected candidates. Chinese judge Xue Hanqin became the new judge of the International Court of Justice in 2021.

　　Xue Hanqin is 65 years old. He is an academician of the Brussels Institute of International Law and president of the Asian Society of International Law. He has many years of experience in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and international organizations.

In May 2010, she was elected as the chairperson of the United Nations International Law Commission, the first Asian female chairperson in the history of the Commission; in June of the same year, she was elected the first Chinese female judge of the International Court of Justice; in February 2018, she was elected as the vice president of the International Court of Justice.

　　In addition, the newly elected judges also include candidates from Japan, Germany, Uganda and Slovakia.

　　The International Court of Justice is one of the main organs of the United Nations. It is the only universal international judicial institution with general jurisdiction. It is located in The Hague, Netherlands. Issued advisory opinions on legal issues.

The International Court of Justice is composed of 15 judges of different nationalities. The term of office is 9 years. They can be re-elected. One-third of them are re-elected every three years. Candidates must obtain an absolute majority in the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council before they can be elected.

(CCTV reporter Xu Dezhi)