By Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED NATIONS, November 10 -- After filling four of five seats on the International Court of Justice Thursday morning, the Security Council and General Assembly could not come to an agreement if the fifth seat would go to Sierra Leone's incumbent Abdul Koroma or Uganda's Julia Sebutinde.
As both bodies took a break for lunch, a reading of the c.v.'s shows that Sebutinde presides over the Special Court for Sierra Leone. But she has been unable to garner the needed nine votes in the Security Council, despite getting 109 in the General Assembly.
Koroma, meanwhile, had 10 votes in the Security Council, but only 88 in the General Assembly, less than the 97 needed. How a sitting judge could fall below 50% support in the General Assembly is surprising.
While the candidates of Bulgaria and Senegal dropped out -- Senegal's microphone in the General Assembly was not working, forcing the announcement to be made from Serbia's seat and mic -- it was "Uganda versus Sierra Leone for another round," as one diplomat put it to Inner City Press.
The other winners, save the Italian Georgio Gaja, were incumbents, including the Slovak Peter Tomka regarding whom questions were raised. The President of the ICJ, Hisashi Owada, took note of the complaint, which for the record Tomka denied.
Whether chicanery in the upcoming election of International Criminal Court judges, including France offering to support an unqualified candidate in exchange for support for its Bruno Cathala - click here for exclusive story by Inner City Press - will be treated the same is not yet known.
In the strange process of "simultaneous" Security Council and General Assembly voting or at least announcing, a concern was raised about how information from one organ might reach another. Envelope were carried, telepathy attempted - all to no avail, at least as of 1:30 pm.
The Security Council was to hear a briefing about the situation between Sudan and South Sudan, including reports of Sudan bombing a refugee camp in South Sudan and killing 12 that Inner City Press asked Ban Ki-moon's spokesman about at Thursday's noon briefing, without answer.
But the Council can't do anything until the ICJ voting is over. Could (South) Sudanese be losers in this election? Watch this site.
