China's Xue Hanqin reelected to top international court

Chinese judge Xue Hanqin, who serves as vice-president of the International Court of Justice, or ICJ, has been reelected to the top judicial panel with strong support.

Xue was among five judges who were elected to the ICJ in voting that took place at the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council on Wednesday and Thursday.

Xue was first elected to the ICJ in June 2010 and was reelected in November 2011. Xue, who has been vice-president of the 15-member court since February 2018, was the first woman from China to serve on the bench and the first female vice-president of the court.

Wang Wenbin, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman, said Xue's reelection reflects the common willingness of the international community and China to promote rule of law.

The Chinese government remains firmly committed to multilateralism and safeguarding the international order based on international laws, he said, and is willing to strengthen cooperation with other countries to support the ICJ to play an important role in the international legal system.

Prior to her career in the ICJ, Xue was a member and chair of the United Nations International Law Commission. She had served as director-general of the department of treaty and law in China's Foreign Ministry, legal counsel of the ministry, Chinese ambassador to the Netherlands and Chinese ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The newly elected ICJ judges will serve for nine years, beginning on Feb 6 next year.

The ICJ, which is based in The Hague, the Netherlands, and began its operations in 1946, is the principal judicial organ of the UN. The court's role is to settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by UN bodies such as the General Assembly and the Security Council.

The court's 15 members are considered "persons of high moral character, who possess the qualifications required in their respective countries for appointment to the highest judicial offices or are jurisconsults of recognized competence in international law".