THE HAGUE, 6 February 2003. Today Judge Shi Jiuyong (China) was elected President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by his peers. Judge Raymond Ranjeva (Madagascar) was elected Vice-President. They will both serve a three-year term.

Biographies of President Shi and Vice-President Ranjeva, who have been Members of the Court since 1994 and 1991 respectively, are attached.

The International Court of Justice, composed of 15 Members, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It adjudicates disputes between States and gives advisory opinions to United Nations organs and specialized agencies. With 23 cases currently on its docket, the Court is busier than ever before.

Taking into account the result of the election held on 21 October 2002 by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council to fill the five seats due to fall vacant on 6 February 2003 (see Press Release No. 2002/27), the composition of the Court is now as follows:

President:
Shi Jiuyong (China)
Vice-President:
Raymond Ranjeva (Madagascar)

Judges:
Gilbert Guillaume (France) Abdul G. Koroma (Sierra Leone) Vladlen S. Vereshchetin (Russian Federation) Rosalyn Higgins (United Kingdom) Gonzalo Parra-Aranguren (Venezuela) Pieter H. Kooijmans (Netherlands) Francisco Rezek (Brazil) Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh (Jordan) Thomas Buergenthal (United States of America) Nabil Elaraby (Egypt) Hisashi Owada (Japan) Bruno Simma (Germany) Peter Tomka (Slovakia)