Indian Judges of the International Court of Justice
Four Indians
Four Indians have been elected judges of the International Court of Justice: Sir B.N. Rau (1952–53), Nagendra Singh (1973–88), R.S. Pathak (1989–91) and Dalveer Bhandari (from 2012). M.C. Chagla also sat as a judge ad hoc in the Right of Passage case.
Quick check: Which of these Indians has NOT been an elected judge of the ICJ?
Dalveer Bhandari
Nagendra Singh
R.S. Pathak
M.C. Chagla
Answer: D. M.C. Chagla sat only as a judge ad hoc.
1914–1988
Nagendra Singh
The only Indian President of the ICJ
Nagendra Singh, a scholar of international and maritime law, was a judge of the International Court of Justice from 1973 until his death in 1988, and its President from 1985 to 1988 — the only Indian to have headed the Court. Earlier he had been Secretary to the President of India and Chief Election Commissioner (1972–73).
ICJ President, 1985–88.
Chief Election Commissioner, 1972–73.
Quick check: Who is the only Indian to have been President of the International Court of Justice?
B.N. Rau
Nagendra Singh
R.S. Pathak
Dalveer Bhandari
Answer: B.
born 1947
Dalveer Bhandari
The 2017 re-election
A former Supreme Court judge, Dalveer Bhandari was elected to the ICJ in 2012. In November 2017 he was re-elected after a close contest with the United Kingdom's candidate, Christopher Greenwood; after repeated rounds in which Bhandari led in the General Assembly and Greenwood in the Security Council, the UK withdrew. For the first time, the UK had no judge on the Court.
Re-elected in 2017 after the UK withdrew its candidate.
Quick check: In 2017, Dalveer Bhandari was re-elected to the ICJ after which country withdrew its candidate?
United States
United Kingdom
France
China
Answer: B.
1886–1967
Radhabinod Pal
Tokyo and the International Law Commission
Justice Radhabinod Pal, of the Calcutta High Court, was India's judge on the Tokyo war crimes tribunal, where he wrote a lone dissent acquitting all the accused. He later served on the UN International Law Commission and was its chairman in 1958 and 1962.
Chairman of the International Law Commission (1958, 1962).
1900–1990
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
First woman President of the UN General Assembly
Nehru's sister and a member of the Constituent Assembly, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit led India's delegation to the UN and in 1953 became the first woman President of the UN General Assembly. She was also Ambassador to the USSR and the US, High Commissioner to the UK, and Governor of Maharashtra.
First woman President of the UN General Assembly (1953).
Quick check: Who was the first woman President of the UN General Assembly?
Angie Brooks
Eleanor Roosevelt
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Hansa Mehta
Answer: C.
12 more entries under this heading
P. Chandrasekhara Rao · Law of the Sea judge
Neeru Chadha · First Indian woman on ITLOS
V.K. Krishna Menon at the UN · The longest speech
Ujal Singh Bhatia · WTO Appellate Body
Indians on the International Law Commission · Codifying international law
Indians in International Arbitration · Presiding over disputes
Hansa Mehta at the UN · Changed "all men" to "all human beings" in the Universal Declaration
M.C. Chagla, Diplomat · Ambassador to the United States and High Commissioner to the UK
Nani Palkhivala, Ambassador · India's Ambassador to the United States
A.V. Ganesan · A member of the first WTO Appellate Body
Miloon Kothari · The first UN Special Rapporteur on adequate housing
Aniruddha Rajput · A member of the International Law Commission
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