The diplomatic push is led by Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan and Law Minister Edwin Tong at the United Nations headquarters in New York. A field of ten contenders is vying for five available seats on the 15-judge bench for the 2027–2036 term. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Law emphasized that her three decades of public international law experience would greatly benefit the court. To win, a nominee must successfully achieve simultaneous majorities in both the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council.
Key points
Election to the bench requires securing concurrent majority votes from both the UN Genera…: Election to the bench requires securing concurrent majority votes from both the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council.
The nominee previously led five years of international talks that concluded with the adop…: The nominee previously led five years of international talks that concluded with the adoption of the high seas BBNJ Agreement in 2023.
Government officials stressed that her election would reinforce the rules-based multilate…: Government officials stressed that her election would reinforce the rules-based multilateral order through her deep background in international law.
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Ms Lee is one of 10 candidates vying for five seats, with voting to take place at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
SINGAPORE: The Singapore government "fully supports" Ambassador for International Law Rena Lee's candidature for election as a judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the foreign affairs and law ministries said in a joint statement sent to the media on Tuesday (Nov 3).
Ms Lee, 57, is the first Singaporean nominated for a seat on the world's highest judicial bench.
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Mr Edwin Tong, Minister for Law and Second Minister for Home Affairs, are in New York in support of Ms Lee's candidature. They were also due to host a reception for her on Monday evening in New York.
Dr Balakrishnan said: "Her deep expertise, strong conviction in the rule of law, and ability to understand different perspectives in resolving differences would be an asset to the ICJ."
He also said that Singapore, as a small state, has always been a "stalwart advocate and defender of the rule…
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