Somali Lawyer obtained an absolute majority for ICJ Seat

[Liqaye]

 

Djibouti (HAN) November 7th, 2008 - The Somali people and Somali Diaspora get their best news for their son, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf, he was elected to be ICJ judge seat. He joins during the process, Ronny Abraham (France), Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh (Jordan), Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade (Brazil), and Christopher Greenwood (United Kingdom), all of whom were elected earlier today on the first ballot. We will post again later with details of the process series of ballots.

Dr. Abdulqawi A. Yusuf, a Somali national, is a prominent public international lawyer who is currently Legal Adviser, Director of the Office of International Standards and Legal Affairs for UNESCO.

 

 

The Security Council Actions: Five judges for the International Court of Justice were to be elected Thursday, with both the General Assembly and Security Council simultaneously considering lists of nine names. In front of the Security Council, a representative of the Somali mission handed out flyers for their candidate Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf. A French representative handed out the biography of Ronny Abraham, and told Inner City Press that "if the African candidates get a majority, it will all have to be re-voted."

 

The other candidates ware Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh (Jordan), Sayeman Bula-Bula (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Antonio Augusto Cançado Trindade (Brazil), Miriam Defensor Santiago (Philippines), Christopher John Greenwood (United Kingdom), Maurice Kamto (Cameroon), Rafael Nieto-Navia (Colombia).

 

Inner City Press asked South Africa's Dumisani Kumalo about the three African candidates. Pointing at the U.S. Deputy -- and soon to be Acting -- Permanent Representative Alejandro Wolff, Kumalo said, "Now he has an African president, he's talking about judges."

 

The African Group endorsed the Somali candidate -- the Somali representative handed Inner City Press a copy of the endorsement -- but the candidates of DR Congo and Cameroon did not withdraw. And so messages flew back and forth between the Assembly and Council.

 

Some wondered, how did they do this before the Internet? Others were more practical: how would the new five rule on Serbia's case challenging the legality of Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence?

 

Background: His previous positions include:

 

Legal Advisor (1994-1998) and Assistant Director General for African Affairs, UNIDO, Vienna (1998-2001), Representative and Head of the New York office of UNCTAD (1992-1994) and Chief of the Legal Policies Service of UNCTAD( 1987-1992), Lecturer in law at the Somali National University (1974-1981) and at the University of Geneva(1981-1983). Somali delegate to the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Seas (1975-1980). Dr. Yusuf has also been guest Professor and Lecturer at a number of Universities and Institutes in Switzerland, Italy, Greece and France.

 

He is the Founder and General Editor of the African Yearbook of International Law and is a Member of the Institut de droit international (Geneva). Dr. Yusuf is also one of the founder's of the African Foundation for International Law as well as the Chair person of its Executive Committee. He is the author of several books and numerous articles on various aspects of international law as well as articles and op-ed pieces in newspapers on current African and Somali affairs. Dr.Yusuf is also a member of the editorial advisory board of the Asian Yearbook of International Law, and a member of the Thessaloniki Institute of Public International Law and International Relations curatorium. He is currently serving as a judge ad hoc at the International Court of Justice.

 

He is Dr. Juris (Somali National University) and holds a PhD in international law from the Graduate Institute of International Studies (University of Geneva). Prior to his doctorate he completed Post-graduate studies in international law at the University of Florence (Italy).

 

Dr.Yusuf is fluent in Somali, English, French, Arabic, and Italian.

 

 

The Security Council Action process

The Security Council and General Assembly will both hold elections for the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on 6 November 2008. Five judges in total will be elected to the ICJ each for a term of nine years, starting on 6 February 2009.

 

The Statute of the ICJ, in article 8, provides that:

 

The General Assembly and the Security Council shall proceed independently of one another to elect the members of the Court.

 

The process is intended to limit the possibility of the vote’s outcome in one organ influencing the vote in the other. Results are usually achieved quickly in the Security Council, but balloting in the General Assembly can take much longer.

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Candidates

In this election, nine candidates are contesting five positions. The candidates are: Ronny Abraham (France), Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh (Jordan), Sayeman Bula-Bula (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Antonio Augusto Cançado Trindade (Brazil), Miriam Defensor Santiago (Philippines), Christopher John Greenwood (United Kingdom), Maurice Kamto (Cameroon), Rafael Nieto-Navia (Colombia) and Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf (Somalia).

 

Two candidates—Ronny Abraham and Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh—are current members of the ICJ. (At the expiry of their first term in office, judges may be re-elected for up to two further terms.)

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Election Process

The ICJ consists of 15 judges elected for a term of nine years each by the General Assembly and the Council. Five seats fall vacant for re-election every three years. No two nationals from the same state can hold office at the same time.

 

Under article 10 of the ICJ Statute, those candidates who obtain an absolute majority (that is, more than 50 percent) of votes in both the General Assembly and in the Council are elected. A candidate must therefore obtain 97 votes in the General Assembly and eight votes in the Council. No distinction is made between the weight given to votes of permanent and non-permanent members of the Council.

 

Each elector may vote for five candidates on the first ballot. If the number of candidates obtaining an absolute majority is less than five on the first ballot, a second ballot for the remaining positions will be held and balloting will continue until five candidates have obtained the required majority. On the second and (if necessary) subsequent ballots, each elector may vote for five candidates, less the number of candidates who have already achieved an absolute majority. This procedure applies in both the General Assembly and the Council. If more than the required number of candidates obtains an absolute majority on the same ballot in either organ, a new vote on all the candidates will be held. (It is theoretically possible in the Security Council if the votes are evenly spread for all of the candidates to get eight votes in the first ballot.)

 

When five candidates (and no more) have an absolute majority in either body, the president will notify the other president of the outcome. The results are kept confidential by each president and are disclosed only to members of the second body after their own voting is concluded. (However, it is always possible that the numbers will leak from Security Council delegations.) In the event that the five candidates elected by one are not the same as those elected by the other, both will proceed (independently) to new balloting to fill the unresolved seats. As before, the results of each body will be compared only after the required number of candidates has achieved an absolute majority in each. This process will continue for three meetings, when, if all vacant positions are still not filled, the Council and the General Assembly may decide to convene a conference of six members (three from each) to recommend a candidate for the respective acceptance by the General Assembly and Security Council.

 

In choosing judges to serve on the ICJ, members of the Council and the General Assembly will consider not only the qualifications of the candidates, but also their involvement in advocacy, relating to issues or disputes before the ICJ or that are likely to come before the ICJ in the near future. Under article 9, the ICJ Statute requires that the electors should ensure the representation of the world's "main forms of civilization and of the principal legal systems" in the body of the ICJ as a whole.

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Political Issues of the judges

Permanent members of the Council have no legal entitlement to permanent representation on the ICJ. However, judges from the P5 are usually present on the Court. This may favour election of the French and UK candidates. Regional considerations are also likely to play a role along with incumbency. This may well favour the Jordanian candidate as he is the only candidate from the Middle East and a well known member of the ICJ, having been its vice-president since February 2006.

 

Background on the ICJ

The ICJ is one of the four principal organs of the United Nations—the others being the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council. All UN member states are parties to the Statute of the ICJ, which is an annex to the UN Charter. The ICJ is the only international court of a universal character with general jurisdiction. This jurisdiction is twofold.

 

First, the ICJ has jurisdiction over all cases referred to it by state parties in the exercise of their sovereign free will. On 31 July 2008, 66 of the 192 states parties to the ICJ Statute had submitted a declaration of acceptance of compulsory jurisdiction to the Secretary-General. This means that among these states, the ICJ’s determination of disputes is binding.

 

States that have not declared their acceptance of the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ may also consent to take a dispute between them to the ICJ by way of special agreement. In doing so, they consent to be bound by the ICJ’s decision. In the event that one state party fails to abide by the ICJ’s decision, the other may have recourse to the Council. Under the UN Charter, the Council may then make recommendations or decide upon measures to give effect to the ICJ's decision if it deems this necessary. Consent may be given either on a case by case basis or, more broadly, by submitting a declaration made under the compulsory jurisdiction procedure in the Statute (article 36).

 

Further, some 300 bilateral or multilateral treaties provide for the ICJ to have jurisdiction in the resolution of disputes arising out of the treaties’ application. State parties to such a treaty will normally be bound by any determination by the ICJ resulting from its interpretation.

 

Second, the Security Council or the General Assembly may request the ICJ to give an advisory opinion on any legal issue. The General Assembly may also authorise other organs and specialised UN agencies to request advisory opinions of the ICJ.

[Che -Guevara]

Garyaqaan Somali ah oo ku biiray Maxkamada Hegue

7 Nov 7, 2008 - 9:12:30 AM

 

 

Qaramada Midoobay ayaa markii ugu horreysay u dooratay garyaqaan Somali ah inuu ka mid noqdo garsoorayaasha Maxakamdaa caalamiga ee Hegue, kaasoo la dhaarin doono Febuary 2009.

 

Garyaqaanka Somaliga ah oo lagu magacaabo C/qawi Axmed Yuusuf ayaa wuxuu ka guulaysatay tartamayaal ka socda Afrika iyo caalamka intiisa kale, isagoo helay codadka 116-dal oo ka tirsan kuwa UN-ka.

 

Ku xigeenka wakiilka Somalia ee UN-ka Ciid Badal Max'ed oo goobjoog ka ahaa dorashada uu kusoo baxay C/qawi oo dhacday xalay [Nov 6, 2008] oo u waramayay BBC-da ayaa sheegay in codad buuxa uu helay C/qawi.

 

"Ilaa shan wareeg ayaa la qabtay doorashooyinka, intaba waxaa ugu codad badnaa garyaqaanka Somaliga ah, waxaan ugu dambeyn lagu dhawaaqay guushiisa" ayuu yiri Ciid Badal isagoo intaas raaciyay in dalal Afrikaan ah ay doonayeen inay Somalia booska ka riixdaan.

 

Mar la weydiiyay sababta Somalia oo aan xasiloonayn loogu doortay gayaqaan Soomaaliyeed inuu garsoore ka noqdo Maxkamada Caalamiga ah ee Hegue ayaa shewegay inaysan wax shuqul ah isku lahayn doorashada iyo xaalada Somalia ka jirta.

 

C/qawi oo 60-jir ah ayaa muddo badan u soo shaqeynayay hay'adaha kala duwan ee Qaramada Midoobay, wuxuuna ahaa 7-dii sano ee ugu dambeysay la taliyaha dhanka shuruucda caalamiga ah ee Hay'ada UNESCO.

 

Sidoo kale garyaqaankan ayaa hay'adihii uu u soo shaqeeyay kala talin jiray dhanka shuruucda caalamiga ah, waxaana hay'adaha uu u shaqeeyay ka mid ah kuwo ka madaxbanaan Qaramada Midoobay.

 

"Guusha uu gaaray C/qawi ma ahan oo keliya mid isaga u gaar ah, waxayse guul la taaban karo u tahay dhamaan Shacabka Soomaaliyeed, waayo Somalia waxay ku biirtay 15-ka dal ee garsoorayaasha ku leh Maxkamada caalamiga ah ee Hegue" ayuu mar kale yiri Ciid Badal.

 

C/qawi Axmed Yuusuf ayaa haysta shahaadada ugu sareysa Sharciyada, wuxuuna wax kusoo bartay Jamacadii Ummada ee Somalia, Jaamacad ku taala dalka Talyaniga iyo Jaamacadiisii ugu dambeysay oo ku taala Sweden.

 

Garowe Online, Muqdisho

[Allamagan]

Good news indeed! and congrats to this brother.

[Abwaan]

This is a very good news for Somalis and a very positive information after all the mayhem. I am proud of the brother Dr Cabdulqawi and I wish him good luck with his new role. These are the sort of individuals we need in the leadership arena of Somalia not warlords and criminals.

[Abwaan]

http://www.calanka.com/Wararki-Maanta/warka26154