Fake Viral

Justice Dalveer Bhandari is not the Chief Justice of International Court, there is no such post in ICJ

Written by Md Mahfooz Alam

There is a message doing the rounds on social media with the claim that Indian Justice Dalveer Bhandari has been elected for the post of Chief Justice in the International Court of Justice (ICJ). He secured 183 votes out of 193. It is also being claimed that the position was held by Great Britain for 71 years.

Facto News found out that the claim is misleading and there is no post of Chief Justice in the International Court of Justice. However, Dalveer Bhandari has been serving as the judge at ICJ since 27 April 2012.

Kavita Tiwari, a Twitter made the claim and the caption along with the post reads: “ANOTHER PROUD MOMENT FOR INDIA Justice Dalveer Bhandari Elected Chief Justice For International Court Of Justice For Next 9 Yrs. He Secured 183 Votes Out Of 193 Great Britain Was Holding This Position For 71 Years.”

(Source: Twitter/Screenshot)

The claim is viral on Facebook.

(Source: Facebook/Screenshot)

FactO Check:

The website of the ICJ has enlisted the total members and their posts. According to the website, there is no post of Chief Justice, however, they elect the president and vice president. Johan E. Donoghue from the USA has been serving as the president since 8 February 2021 and she has been a member of the court since 2010.  Kirill Gevorgian of the Russian Federation is the vice president.

(Source: ICJ/Screenshot)

India’s Justice Dalveer Bhandari has been a member of the international court since 27 April 2012.  He was re-elected for the post of Judge on 6 February 2018 for the 9 years term after Britain withdrew its nominee, Justice Christopher Greenwood. The withdrawal left Britain without a representative at the international court for the first time.

The International Court of Justice is composed of 15 judges elected for the 9 years terms. They can be elected only after winning an absolute majority at the United Nations in both the General Assembly (97 votes) and the Security Council (8 votes), separately. A third of the member is elected every three years to ensure the continuity of the members.

From India, Justice Nagendra Singh was a distinguished Judge of the International Court of Justice, and he also served as the  President of the court from 1985 to 1988.

Conclusion: 

The claim of Justice Dhalveer Bhandari being elected as the Chief Justice of the International Court of Justice is misleading. There is no such post in the international court.

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About the author

Md Mahfooz Alam

Mahfooz is a multimedia journalist and regularly writes fact-check stories for Facto News. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. He has worked as an intern fact-checker for The Quint. He specializes in research and fact-checking and aspires to do investigative reporting.

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