Chapter I of the Statute of the International Court of Justice: Organization of the Court

This court is composed of several independent judges. Regardless of nationality, the judge should be elected from jurists who are qualified to hold the highest judicial positions in their own countries or who are recognized as international law.

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1. The court consists of 15 judges, no two of whom may be nationals of the same country.

2. For the purpose of serving as a judge of the Court, a person who can meet nationals of more than one country shall be regarded as a national of the country or Member State where he usually exercises civil and political interests.

Article 4

1. The judges of the Court shall be elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council from a list submitted by national groups of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in accordance with the following provisions.

2. The list of candidates from Member States of the United Nations that are not represented in the Permanent Court of Arbitration shall be submitted by organizations appointed by their respective governments for this purpose; The conditions for the appointment of arbitrators of the Permanent Court of Arbitration stipulated in Article 44 of The Hague Treaty on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes 1907 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the appointment of national organizations.

3. If a country that is not a member of the United Nations accepts the Statute of the Court, in the absence of special agreement, the conditions for its participation in the election of judges of the Court shall be set by the General Assembly on the proposal of the Security Council.

Article 5

1. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall, at least three months before the election date, invite in writing the arbitrators of the Permanent Court of Arbitration who are parties to this Statute and the national groups appointed in accordance with Article 4, paragraph 2. Within a certain period of time, all state organizations should propose people who can accept the position of judge.

2. Each group shall nominate no more than four persons, of whom no more than two shall be nationals. In any case, the number of candidates proposed by each group shall not exceed twice the number of seats.

Article 6

National organizations should consult the Supreme Court, university law schools, law schools, national research institutes specializing in law and branches of international research institutes in various countries before proposing the above-mentioned personnel.

Article 7

1. The secretary shall compile a list of the persons mentioned in the preceding paragraph in alphabetical order. Except for the provisions of the second paragraph of Article 12, this person has the right to be elected.

2. The Secretary-General shall submit the list mentioned in the preceding paragraph to the General Assembly and the Security Council.

Article 8

The General Assembly and the Security Council should independently hold elections for judges of the Court.

Article 9

In every election, voters should not only pay attention to the necessary qualifications of candidates, but also ensure that all judges can truly represent the world's major cultures and legal systems.

Article 10

Candidates who have obtained an absolute majority of votes in the General Assembly and the Security Council shall be considered elected.

2. The voting in the Security Council, or the election of judges or the appointment of personnel to the joint meeting referred to in Article 12 shall be independent of the distinction between permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council.

3. If there is more than one absolute majority of votes in the General Assembly and the Security Council, the one with the largest number of votes shall be regarded as elected.

Article 11

After the first election meeting, if one or more seats need to be by-elected, a second election meeting should be held, and a third election meeting should be held if necessary.

Article 12

1. After the third election meeting, if there are still one or more seats to be by-elected, the General Assembly or the Security Council may at any time request the organization of a joint meeting composed of six members, three of whom are from the General Assembly and three from the Security Council. The joint meeting elected one person for each vacancy by an absolute majority vote and submitted it to the General Assembly and the Security Council for acceptance respectively.

2 persons with the necessary qualifications, that is, those who are not included in the list of candidates referred to in Article 7, may also be included in the list of joint meetings with the consent of all.

3. If the joint meeting confirms that the election is inconclusive, the elected judges shall, within the time limit set by the Security Council, select a number of candidates who hold electoral votes in the General Assembly or the Security Council to fill the vacancy.

4. When the votes of judges are equal, the oldest judge shall have a casting vote.

Article 13

1. A judge shall serve for a term of nine years and may be re-elected. However, among the judges elected in the first election, five have a three-year term and the other five have a six-year term.

2. The term of office of the above-mentioned first judges shall be three or six years, which shall be decided by the Secretary-General after the first election by lot.

3. Judges should continue to perform their duties until they are replaced by successors. Although he/she has been replaced, he/she should still close the case he/she has started to deal with.

4. When a judge resigns, he shall submit a letter of resignation to the President of the Court, who shall forward it to the Secretary-General. Upon receipt of the notice, one of the judges will become vacant.

Article 14

When a vacancy occurs, a by-election shall be held according to the method determined in the first election. However, the Secretary-General shall issue an invitation letter as stipulated in Article 5 within one month after the vacancy of a judge, and the Security Council shall appoint a date for the election.

Article 15

A judge elected to replace a judge whose term of office has not expired shall hold office until the expiration of his predecessor's term of office.

Article 16

1. A judge may not exercise any political or administrative duties or perform any other professional tasks.

2. If there is any doubt on this point, it shall be decided by the court.

Article 17

1. A judge may not be a lawyer or assistant under any circumstances.

2. A judge used to be an agent or lawyer created by one party. Or an assistant, or a member of a domestic court or an international court or a commission of inquiry, or in any other capacity, may not participate in the trial of a case.

3. If there is any doubt on this point, it shall be decided by the court.

Article 18

1. Unless the remaining judges unanimously agree that a judge is no longer suitable for the necessary conditions, he shall not be removed from office.

2. The removal of a judge shall be formally notified to the Secretary-General by the Registrar.

3. Once this notification is sent to the Secretary-General, one of the judges will become vacant.

Article 19

Judges should enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities when performing court duties.

Article 20

Before taking office, a judge should solemnly swear in an open court that he will exercise his power impartially and wholeheartedly.

Article 21

1. The court shall elect a president and a vice-president for a term of three years and may be re-elected.

2. The Court shall appoint a Registrar and may assign other necessary staff as appropriate.

Article 22

1. The seat of the Court is The Hague, but the Court may hold sessions and perform its functions elsewhere if it deems it appropriate.

2. The President and the Registrar shall reside at the seat of the Court.

Article 23

1. The court shall be open for business except statutory holidays. The date and duration of the judicial holiday shall be decided by the court.

2. Judges may have fixed holidays, the date and duration of which shall be decided by the court according to the distance between The Hague and the judge's residence.

3. Judges should always be assigned by the court, except on holidays or when they are unable to handle things due to illness or other major reasons, and after giving appropriate explanations to the president.

Article 24

1. If the judge thinks that the judgment of a case is not suitable for special reasons, he shall notify the presiding judge.

2. If the President considers that a judge should not participate in a case for special reasons, he shall inform the judge accordingly.

3. In this case, if the judge and the president disagree, it shall be decided by the court.

Article 25

1. Unless otherwise stipulated in this Statute, the court shall be held by all judges.

Two. The rules of the court may alternately allow one or more judges to be exempted from attending according to the circumstances, but the number of judges who are prepared to attend shall not be reduced by at least eleven.

Three. Nine judges constitute a quorum of the court.

Article 26

1. The Court may establish one or more chambers at any time, and may decide to form a chamber of three or more judges. The court handles special cases, such as labor cases and cases related to transit and traffic.

2. In order to deal with specific cases, the court may set up a chamber at any time, and the number of judges organizing the chamber shall be determined by the court with the consent of the parties concerned.

3. The case shall be tried and decided by the Chamber provided for in this article at the request of the State concerned.

Article 27

A judgment made by any chamber provided for in articles 26 and 29 shall be deemed to be a judgment of the court.

Article 28

With the consent of the parties concerned, the Chambers provided for in Articles 26 and 29 may hold sessions and function outside The Hague.

Article 29

In order to deal with affairs quickly, the court should organize a chamber composed of five judges every year. The Chamber may, at the request of the parties concerned, hear and decide cases in a summary way. The court should also select two judges to replace the judges who are unable to appear in court.

Article 30

1. The court shall formulate rules for performing its duties, especially procedural rules.

2. The rules of court may provide that jurors shall attend the court or any chamber without the right to vote.

Article 31

1. When the court accepts a lawsuit, the judge who belongs to the nationality of the litigant has the right to participate.

2. When the court accepts a case, if any of the judges belongs to the nationality of a country, any other country may appoint them as judges to participate in the trial of the case. This person is particularly suitable to be selected from the candidates mentioned in Articles 4 and 5.

3. When the court accepts a case, if neither party has a judge of its own nationality, each party may appoint a judge according to the provisions of paragraph 2 of this article.

4. The provisions of this article shall apply to the cases of articles 26 and 29. In this case, the President shall, at his request, hand over one judge or, if necessary, two judges of the Chamber to the judges of the country concerned. If there is no judge from the relevant country or the judge is unable to attend, it shall be handed over to a judge specially selected by the relevant country.

Five. If several countries have the same interests, they should only be regarded as one country within the scope of application of the above provisions. In this regard, if there is any doubt, it will be decided by the court.

6. Judges elected in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this article shall meet the conditions stipulated in Articles 2, 2, 20 and 24 of this Statute. When judges participate in the trial of cases, they are in a completely equal position with their colleagues.

Article 32

1. Members of the Court shall receive an annual salary.

2. The President will receive a special allowance every year.

3. When acting as President, the Vice President shall receive a special allowance on a daily basis.

4. A judge appointed in accordance with the provisions of Article 31, although not a judge of the Court, shall be paid a daily salary when performing his duties.

5. The above salaries, allowances and remuneration are decided by the General Assembly of the United Nations and may not be reduced during the term of office.

6. The salary of the Registrar shall be fixed by the General Assembly on the proposal of the Court.

7. The conditions for the payment of pensions and supplementary travel expenses by judges and registrars shall be stipulated in the statutes concluded by the General Assembly.

8. The above salaries, allowances and remuneration shall be exempt from all taxes.

Article 33

The expenses of the Court shall be borne by the United Nations in a manner to be decided by the General Assembly.