Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'A great honour for India' that was published in Newsband

A great honour for India

The election of Justice Dalveer Bhandari to the International Court of Justice for a second term is a big news for India. Justice Bhandari and Christopher Greenwood of the United Kingdom had a tough fight. For the first time, the U.K. will not have a judge on the ICJ. It is also the first time that a permanent member of the UNSC has lost at the ICJ on a vote.

The loss at the ICJ is being read as confirmation of the U.K.’s diminishing role in global affairs. Remember that UK is America’s inseparable and unquestioning junior partner.

India’s success was built primarily on the support of developing countries, among whom it has nurtured goodwill over the decades. For India, the takeaway is clear: to find a louder global voice. India should thank the world for its success in ICJ.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed gratitude to members of the United Nations General Assembly and the U.N. Security Council for “their support and trust in India”. He said the election process reflects respect for its constitutional integrity and independent judiciary.

The UN Security Council and the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in support of India. Judge Dalveer Bhandari received all 15 votes in the UN Security Council and 183 out of the 193 votes in the UN General Assembly. The extraordinary support from the UN membership is reflective of the respect for strong constitutional integrity of the Indian polity and independence of the judiciary in India,

The re-election is also crucial as it ensures India’s continued influence at the ICJ where the Kulbhushan Jadhav case against Pakistan will come up next month.

The overwhelming majority is an indication of how much respect India commands in the international sphere. India's secular democratic image coupled with its respect for rule of law has yielded this result.

It seems, India, led by Modi has become an important country internationally, and majority countries around the world believe in India, and take it as a powerful country. The credit for India's victory should go to Modi, our permanent representative in the UNO, and external affair ministry. Lets hope, the opposition led by Congress do not find any fault in India's diplomatic victory over UK, and support to India by majority countries.

With Justice Dalveer Bhandari's re-election, this will be the first time in the 70-year history of the U.N. that the U.K. will not be on the world judicial body. One of the British Mr Rycroft displayed his sportsman spirit by saying, “We are naturally disappointed, but it was a competitive field with six strong candidates. If the U.K. could not win in this run-off, then we are pleased that it is a close friend like India that has done so instead. We will continue to cooperate closely with India, here in the United Nations and globally.”

This is a major victory for India. It is a mistake to equate a position of Judge in the International Court of Justice to being one of the five permanent members of the Security Council. The Seniority and Experience and the individuals personal integrity is the virtue on which they are elected. The position of permanent member of the Security Council is almost in India’s grasp but India does not merit the seat for very good reasons. India should have the Mind and Guts to step in into any problem in the neighbourhood and bring peace there, never mind who is at fault. India is having friction with both Pakistan and Sri Lanka and therefore it is impossible to act with justice in both those places without political interference and destabilisation from within the country.

All is well that ends well. Then this is what India had achieved now. But this glory should not be allowed to rest at this stage. In fact this success is to be treated as a stepping-stone for the next important and of course long pending move of getting a permanent membership in U.N. Security council with veto powers. The permanent members like China Russia U.S.A. UK and France should by the latest developments in U.N. body have now seen as to how the wind is blowing. Hereafter at least now these nations should realize that keeping India out is not justified anymore. The Government Of India should move faster.