INDEPENDENT NEWS

Results Of Int. Criminal Court Ballot # 1

Published: Wed 5 Feb 2003 01:23 PM
Results Of Icc Ballot # 1
Tuesday, 4 - February 2003
85 States Parties were present and voting. 83 ballots were considered valid, and 2 ballots were determined invalid. Candidates required a minimum of 56 votes to be elected.
For further information about the minimum voting procedures used in today's balloting, please refer to the fact sheet on the CICC web site at http://www.iccnow.org/pressroom/factsheets/FS-CICC-ElectionProcedures.pdf
In the first ballot, the following 7 candidates were elected to serve as ICC judges (listed by the number of votes received):
Ms. CLARK, Maureen Harding Ireland with 65 votes Ms. DIARRA, Fatoumata Dembele Mali with 65 votes Mr. SONG, Sang-hyun Rep. of Korea with 63 votes Ms. STEINER, Sylvia H. de Figueiredo Brazil with 61 votes Ms. KUENYEHIA, Akua Ghana with 60 votes Ms. ODIO BENITO, Elizabeth Costa Rica with 60 votes Ms. PILLAY, Navanethem South Africa with 56 votes
In the 2nd round of ballots, States Parties can vote for a maximum of 11 candidates.
The adjusted minimum voting requirements for the 2nd ballot are as follows. States Parties must vote for: - at least 4 candidates from List A and at least 3 candidates from List B - at least 1 candidate from Asian States, 2 candidates from Eastern European States, 1 candidate from Latin American and Caribbean States, and 2 candidates from Western European and Other States. - at least 5 male candidates
Other judges on the ICC ballot received the following number of votes (listed according to the number of votes received):
KIRSCH, Philippe Canada 55 votes HUDSON-PHILLIPS, Karl T. Trinidad and Tobago 53 votes KOURULA, Erkki Finland 51 votes POLITI, Mauro Italy 46 votes USACKA, Anita Latvia 46 votes OTT, Barbara Liliane Switzerland 45 votes JORDA, Claude France 43 votes KAUL, Hans-Peter Germany 43 votes PIKIS, Gheorghios M. Cyprus 43 votes FULFORD, Adrian United Kingdom 42 votes NDIR, Doudou Senegal 39 votes ZIELINSKA, Eleonora Poland 36 votes KARPATI, Hajnalka Hungary 35 votes SLADE, Tuiloma Neroni Samoa 34 votes BLATTMANN, René Bolivia 30 votes KARIBI-WHYTE, Adolphus G. Nigeria 30 votes RODRIGUES, Almiro Portugal 28 votes YAÑEZ-BARNUEVO, Juan Antonio Spain 28 votes ENKHSAIKHAN, Jargalsaikhany Mongolia 27 votes ZUPANCIC, Bostjan Slovenia 27 votes JOSIPOVIC, Ivo Croatia 26 votes DIACONU, Ion Romania 23 votes BOSSUYT, Marc Belgium 20 votes NSEREKO, Daniel D. N. Uganda 20 votes RODRIGUEZ-CEDEÑO, Víctor Venezuela 20 votes BOGGIANO, Antonio Argentina 18 votes GOCHEV, Dimitar Bulgaria 18 votes MACLEAN UGARTECHE, Roberto Peru 18 votes NIETO NAVIA, Rafael Colombia 16 votes HENG VONG, Bunchhat Cambodia 15 votes GIANNIDIS, Ioannis Greece 14 votes KATUALA KABA KASHALA, Joseph-Medard Dem. Rep. of the Congo 14 votes TUIVAGA, Timoci Uluiburotu Fiji 14 votes SISSOKO, Mory Ousmane Niger 9 votes SOCK, Raymond C. Gambia 9 votes LUGAKINGIRA, Kamugumya S. K. United Rep. of Tanzania 8 votes
Summary of 1st Ballot: - Elected Candidates by UN Regional Group: 3 from African States, 1 from Asian States, 0 from Eastern European States, 2 from Latin America and Caribbean States, 1 from Western Europe and Other States - Elected Candidates by Legal Expertise: 5 List A (competence in criminal law), 2 List B (competence in international law) - Elected Candidates by Gender: 6 women, 1 man
Statements from Members of NGO Coalition for the International Criminal Court on the Outcome of the First Ballot in the Election of Judges
Christopher Hall, Senior Counsel, International Justice Program Amnesty International "Amnesty International has consistently called for the Court to ensure a fair representation of men and women, not only among the judges, but among the Court staff. We strongly supported the procedure used for electing the judges in the first ballot and the results of the first ballot are an encouraging sign that this procedure will lead to a fair representation of men and women in the Court. However, we continue to be disappointed that the nomination procedures at the national level were not transparent and did not involve broad consultation with civil society, thus leading to far fewer women candidates being nominated for election. We will continue to work for reform of national nomination procedures to ensure that a larger number of women candidates are nominated for the next election." For further information, call: 646.298.8258
William Pace, Convenor Coalition for the International Criminal Court "The Coalition's campaign to improve the procedures, fairness and transparency of international elections worked extremely well today. Coalition members state that all of the candidates that won were highly qualified. Our members also felt that the candidates that were the most unqualified received very few votes. The group of Western States split their votes in the first round, whereas the African and Latin American Groups voted strategically and for highly qualified candidates within their regions. The gender representation requirement clearly worked." For more information, call: 917-214-5535
Jeanne Sulzer, International Justice Program Coordinator Fédération Internationale des Ligues des Droits de L'Homme "This ballot shows that a transparent and credible election process to an international organization is possible. For the first time in history, the proactive work of NGOs has been extraordinary in facilitating representation and transparency. This first ballot shows that the traditional opacity of UN election processes can be overcome when real checks and balances and outside monitoring are provided from international civil society. For FIDH, the struggle for gender balance is not over. The outcome of the first ballot should not prevent States from seeking an equal number of women as men in the process." For more information, call: 646.298.8258
Richard Dicker, International Justice Program Director Human Rights Watch "Human Rights Watch is very impressed by the results of the first round of balloting. The process worked -- only two ballots were invalidated. Of those elected, there is strong representation of experience in criminal law. Lastly, the overwhelming preponderance of women elected, while not conclusive as to gender balance on the bench, is a very good first step." For further information, call: 917-747-6731
Fiona McKay, International Justice Program Director Lawyers Committee for Human Rights "Although this is on the first ballot, we are delighted with the outcome. In particular, we are pleased that the system set in place for ensuring fair representation - of different regions of the world and of women - produced today." For further information, call: 917-293-7944
Women's Caucus for Gender Justice >From a press statement dated February 4, 2003: "The Women's Caucus applauds the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute for fulfilling the minimum gender voting requirement in the first round of ballot. Reacting to the results Betty Murungi, the Chairperson of the Women's Caucus said, 'The results are indeed encouraging. However, the states parties must go beyond the minimum voting requirement and ensure gender parity.' There are four more qualified women nominees and states parties must remember that the requirement is a minimum and not a maximum. We encourage States Parties to continue the trend of voting for qualified women candidates in the successive rounds of ballots as well." For further information, call Pam Spees: 917-957-5801
Pascale Kambale, Counsel, International Justice Program Human Rights Watch "The three African judges elected is a positive development for Africa. The candidates who received a low number of votes in the first ballot were also in low ranking positions in the opinion of many human rights groups in Africa." For further information, call: 212-874-7584
Brigitte Suhr, Counsel, International Justice Program Human Rights Watch "The first round shows that this election process can and did work. Human Rights Watch is very pleased by the results of the first round. Among the winners are some of the very best candidates. We are also very pleased that six qualified women were elected and we urge States to remember that six is the minimum and that there are other qualified women candidates. In particular, in Latin America, the two candidates who were elected are widely considered to be very qualified. Finally, we urge States to vote for the most qualified candidates in the ensuing balloting." For further information, call: 917-974-3274

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