The 2011 International Court of Justice election began on 10 November 2011 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City.
[3] From the eight candidates, the five winners were Giorgio Gaja (Italy), Hisashi Owada (Japan), Peter Tomka (Slovakia), Xue Hanqin (China) and Julia Sebutinde (Uganda).
Judges are required to be independent and impartial; they may not exercise any political or administrative function, and do not act as a representative of their home state.
Another sitting judge, Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh, also had left the ICJ, having been appointed prime minister of Jordan in October 2011.
If after the third meeting, one or more seats still remain unfilled, the General Assembly and the Security Council may form a joint conference consisting of six members, three appointed by each organ.
If the joint conference is unanimously agreed, it may submit the name of a person not included in the list of nominations, provided that candidate fulfils the required conditions of eligibility to be a judge on the ICJ.
[3] This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: United Nations document A/66/182–S/2011/452 Article 2 of the Statute of the ICJ provides that judges shall be elected "from among persons of high moral character, who possess the qualifications required in their respective countries for appointment to the highest judicial offices, or are jurisconsults of recognized competence in international law".
Four candidates - Giorgio Gaja, Hisashi Owada, Peter Tomka, and Xue Hanqin - obtained majority support in both bodies and thus were elected Judges.
However, upon proposal of the chairman based on previous practice, the Assembly agreed not to avail itself of this opportunity and voting continued in further meetings.
[citation needed] On 28 November, Uganda's representative at the UN Adonia Ayebare said the Ugandan Mission is working round the clock to ensure a Sebutinde victory.
[13] Balloting resumed in New York City the afternoon of 13 December 2011, and Sebutinde was declared elected after receiving an absolute majority of votes in both the Security Council and the General Assembly.