The judges elected at this session replaced six judges who had been elected in 2014 for full nine-year terms. The newly elected judges will serve for nine years until 2033.
The election was governed by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Its article 36(8)(a) states that "[t]he States Parties shall, in the selection of judges, take into account the need, within the membership of the Court, for:
(i) The representation of the principal legal systems of the world;
(ii) Equitable geographical representation; and
(iii) A fair representation of female and male judges."
Furthermore, article 36(3)(b) and 36(5) provide for two lists:
List A contains those judges that "[h]ave established competence in criminal law and procedure, and the necessary relevant experience, whether as judge, prosecutor, advocate or in other similar capacity, in criminal proceedings";
List B contains those who "[h]ave established competence in relevant areas of international law such as international humanitarian law and the law of human rights, and extensive experience in a professional legal capacity which is of relevance to the judicial work of the Court".
Each candidate has to belong to exactly one list. A minimum of nine judges elected from list A and five judges elected from list B is to be maintained on the court.
Further rules of election were adopted by a resolution of the Assembly of States Parties in 2004.[2]
Judges remaining in office
The following judges were scheduled to remain in office beyond 2024:[3]
The nomination period of judges for the 2023 election lasted from 2 January to 26 March 2023.[1] It was extended three times (the maximal number of extensions), to 9 April,[4] to 23 April[5] and finally to 7 May,[6] because the required number of four Asian candidates had not been nominated. The final extension also did not result in this requirement being fulfilled. The following persons were nominated:[7]
Minimum voting requirements governed part of the election. This was to ensure that articles 36(5) and 36(8)(a) cited above were fulfilled. For this election, the following minimum voting requirements applied initially:[8]
Criterion
Number of judges required
Number of judges remaining in office
Ex ante voting requirement
Number of candidates
Adjusted voting requirement
Adjusted voting requirement equals ex ante?
Lists A or B
List A
9
8
1
11
1
Yes
List B
5
4
1
2
1
Yes
Regional criteria
African
3
3
0
3
0
Yes
Asian
3
1
2
3
2
Yes
Eastern European
3
1
2
5
2
Yes
Latin American and Caribbean
3
4
0
0
0
Yes
Western European and other
3
3
0
2
0
Yes
Gender criteria
Female
6
9
0
5
0
Yes
Male
6
3
3
8
3
Yes
Regarding the List A or B requirement, one vote had to be cast for a List A candidate and one for a List B candidate.
Regarding the regional criteria, four votes had to be cast for certain regional groups: two for Asian candidates and two for Eastern European candidates.
Regarding the gender criteria, three votes had to be cast for male candidates.
The minimum voting requirements are updated after each ballot to account for the judges already elected. The regional and gender requirements are dropped either if they can no longer be (jointly) fulfilled, or if after four ballots not all seats are filled. The List A or B requirement remains active until a sufficient number of judges has been elected from each list.
The minimum voting requirements are imposed on the ballots cast, not on the results. Thus, there is no guarantee that a corresponding number of judges is elected. However, in this election this was the case:
Criterion
Initial minimal voting requirement
Corresponding number of judges elected?
List A
1
Yes, after 1st ballot
List B
1
Yes, after 2nd ballot
Asian
2
Yes, after 11th ballot
Eastern European
2
Yes, after 8th ballot
Male
3
Yes, after 10th ballot
Note that the minimum voting requirements according to region and gender were dropped after the 4th ballot and were thus no longer being imposed when a second Asian, second Eastern European and third male judge were elected in the 11th, 8th and 10th ballot, respectively.
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