Swearing-in of Mr. Bhandari, new Member of the Court - The Court will hold a public sitting on Tuesday 19 June 2012 at 3 p.m. before delivering its Judgment on the question of compensation in the case

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

Peace Palace, Carnegieplein 2, 2517 KJ The Hague, Netherlands
Tel.: +31 (0)70 302 2323 Fax: +31 (0)70 364 9928
Website: www.icj-cij.org

Press Release
Unofficial

No. 2012/20
30 May 2012

Swearing-in of Mr. Bhandari, new Member of the Court

The Court will hold a public sitting on Tuesday 19 June 2012 at 3 p.m. before delivering

its Judgment on the question of compensation in the case concerning
Ahmadou Sadio Diallo (Republic of Guinea v.
Democratic Republic of the Congo)

THE HAGUE, 30 May2012. The Internationa l Court of Justice(ICJ) will hold a public
sitting on Tuesday 19 June 2012 at 3 p.m., during which Mr. Dalveer Bhandari, new Member of the
Court, will make the solemn declaration provided for in Article 20 of the Statute of the Court.

Article20 stipulates that “[e]very Member of the Court shall, before taking up his duties,
make a solemn declaration in open court that he will exercise his powers impartially and

conscientiously”.

It should be noted that, owing to the renovaon of the Great Hall of Justice of the Peace
Palace, where the Court usually sits, this public sitting will be held in the auditorium of The Hague
Academy of International Law, whose building is adjacent to the Peace Palace.

Mr.Bhandari (India) was elected Member of the Court by the General Assembly and the
Security Council of the United Nations on 27April2012, following the resignation of
Mr. Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh (Jordan), former judge and Vice-President of the Court.
Mr. Bhandari will hold office for the remainder of Judge Al-Khasawneh’s term, which will expire

on 5 February 2018 (see Press Releases Nos. 2012/1 and 2012/16). The biographical note of each
Member of the Court can be found on the Court’s website ( www.icj-cij.org), under the heading
“The Court/Members of the Court/Current Members”.

After the sitting, the Court will retire brieflyIt will return to the auditorium shortly

afterwards to deliver its Judgment on the ques tion of compensation in the case concerning
Ahmadou Sadio Diallo (Republic of Guinea v. Democratic Republic of the Congo).

___________ - 2 -

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
It was established by the United Nations Char ter in June1945 and began its activities in

April1946. The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). Of the six
principal organs of the United Nations, it is the only one not located in New York. The Court has a
twofold role: first, to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by
States (its judgments have binding force and are without appeal for the parties concerned); and,

second, to give advisory opinions on legal questi ons referred to it by duly authorized United
Nations organs and agencies of the system. The Court is composed of 15judges elected for a
nine-year term by the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations.
Independent of the United Nations Secretariat, it is assisted by a Registry, its own international

secretariat, whose activities are both judicial and diplomatic, as well as administrative. The official
languages of the Court are French and English. Also known as the “World Court”, it is the only
court of a universal character with general jurisdiction.

The ICJ, a court open only to States for cont entious proceedings, and to certain organs and
institutions of the United Nations system for advisory proceedings, should not be confused with the
other ⎯ mostly criminal ⎯ judicial institutions based in The Hague and adjacent areas, such as the

International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY, an ad hoc court created by the
Security Council), the International Criminal Court (ICC, the first permanent international criminal
court, established by treaty, which does not bel ong to the United Nations system), the Special
Tribunal for Lebanon (STL, an independent judicial body composed of Lebanese and international

judges, which is not a United Nations tribunal an d does not form part of the Lebanese judicial
system), or the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA, an independent institution which assists in
the establishment of arbitral tribunals and fac ilitates their work, in acco rdance with the Hague
Convention of 1899).

*

Note to the press and public

1. This particular public sitting will be held in the auditorium of The Hague Academy of
International Law, whose building is adjacent to the Peace Palace.

2. The media accreditation and public admission procedures for this sitting are the same
as those in place for the sitting scheduled on the same day in the case concerning
AhmadouSadioDiallo (Republic of Guinea v. Democratic Republic of the Congo) . To apply,

click on the heading “Calenda r” on the Court’s website ( www.icj-cij.org). The accreditation and
admission procedures will close at midnight on Thursday 14 June 2012.

3. All other practical details can be found in the media advisory annexed to Press Release

No. 2012/19.

___________

Information Department:

Mr. Andrey Poskakukhin, First Secretary of the Court, Head of Department (+31 (0)70 302 2336)
Mr. Boris Heim, Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2337)
Ms Joanne Moore, Associate Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2394)
Ms Genoveva Madurga, Administrative Assistant (+31 (0)70 302 2396)