Dalveer Bhandari's re-election to ICJ reflective of India's constitutional integrity: MEA

New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs on Tuesday called the re-election Dalveer Bhandari to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) as being reflective of the respect for India's strong constitutional integrity of the polity.

"The extraordinary support from the UN membership is reflective of the respect for strong constitutional integrity of the Indian polity and the independence of the judiciary in India," the MEA said.

It may be recalled that the Indian National Group to the Permanent Court of Arbitration had re-nominated Judge Dalveer Bhandari as India's national candidate in June 2017, the ministry said.

"India has been supporting the campaign of Judge Bhandari through diplomatic efforts at different fora. The UK decided to withdraw its candidate, Christopher Greenwood, after a closely fought electoral process. We appreciate the UK decision. We thank all those governments who supported India in this election," it added, as per PTI.

Hailing Bhandari's re-election, Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed it as a proud moment and credited External Affairs Ministry Sushma Swaraj and her ministry's officials for their efforts in ensuring his success.

On her part, the EAM made a special mention of India's Permanent Representative at the UN Syed Akbaruddin while hailing her ministry's team.

I congratulate Justice Dalveer Bhandari on being re-elected to the International Court of Justice. His re-election is a proud moment for us. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 21, 2017

Congratulations to EAM @SushmaSwaraj and her entire team at MEA & diplomatic missions for their untiring efforts that have led to India’s re-election to ICJ. Our deep gratitude to all the members of UNGA as well as UNSC for their support and trust in India. — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 21, 2017

Congratulations to Justice Dalveer Bhandari on his re-election as a Judge of the ICJ. Huge efforts by Team - MEA. Syed Akbaruddin @AkbaruddinIndia our Permanent Representative in UN deserves a special mention. — Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) November 21, 2017

Bhandari, 70, was on Tuesday re-elected to the ICJ with more than two-thirds of the UN members backing him, forcing Britain to withdraw its candidate.

In one of the country's "biggest diplomatic victories" in the multilateral arena, Bhandari received 183 of the 193 votes in the General Assembly and secured all 15 votes in the Security Council to fill the final vacancy on the Hague-based ICJ after separate but simultaneous elections were held at the UN headquarters.

The ICJ has a bench of 15 judges, five of whom are elected every three years for a nine-year term. To be elected, the candidate needed a majority in both the chambers.

Established in 1945, the role of the ICJ is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by states and to give advisory opinions on legal questions.

(With PTI inputs)