Jordanian diplomat Mahmoud Hmoud was chosen Tuesday to serve on the International Court of Justice (ICJ), filling the job left by Nawaf Salam of Lebanon, who stepped down in January after ending up being prime minister. Hmoud will finish Salam’s term, which ends on February 5, 2027.
Hmoud, Jordan’s ambassador to the United Nations because 2021, was the only prospect in the race. He got consentaneous support in both the UN General Assembly and the Security Council, protecting all 178 votes cast in the previous and all 15 in the latter.
His legal and diplomatic background covers years. From 1999 to 2018, Hmoud held numerous terms as legal consultant and director of the Legal Department at Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He worked as ambassador to Singapore in between 2018 and 2021, and was a longstanding member of the International Law Commission, where he chaired the 72nd session in 2021.
Under the ICJ’s guidelines, judges are chosen through different however synchronised votes in the Security Council and the General Assembly. A prospect should win an outright bulk in both bodies.
The ICJ, headquartered in The Hague, is the main judicial organ of the United Nations. It is made up of 15 judges chosen to nine-year terms. Judges need to originate from various nations and represent the world’s significant legal systems. When a seat ends up being uninhabited due to death or resignation, an unique election is held to fill the rest of the term.