India's Dalveer Bhandari wins ICJ election: What it means, why it matters

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"An acrimonious competition", said British paper The Guardian while describing the race between India and the United Kingdom (UK) for the 15th and final place on the Bench of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which was won by the former's candidate, Dalveer Bhandari, after the UK withdrew its candidate from the election.

As reported earlier, Bhandari received 183-193 votes in the United Nations General Assembly and secured all the 15 votes in the Security Council after separate and simultaneous elections were held at the UN headquarters in New York. India's victory came after Britain's Permanent Representative to the UN, Matthew Rycroft, in a statement said that the UK had decided to withdraw Sir Christopher Greenwood as a candidate for re-election as a Judge of the ICJ.

Here's what Bhandari's re-election means and what happened in the run-up to India's victory:

1. Permanent UNSC members unnerved: Ahead of India's victory, agency reports citing observers said that the permanent members of the UN Security Council were 'unnerved' by the prospect of India's nominee winning against Britain's candidate in the election to the last seat of the World Court as it would set a precedent that might challenge their power in the future.

(Click here to read why P5 nations were worried over an Indian victory)

Before the UK withdrew from the race, the permanent members of the Security Council -- the US, Russia, France, and China -- appeared to have rallied behind Greenwood. Britain is the fifth permanent member of the Security Council.

2. A worrisome precedent for P5 countries: The prospect of India winning against a P5 member through democratic means was something that this elite club of veto-wielding countries – Britain, China, France, Russia, and the United States – was unnerved with, because this would set a precedent that they did not want to see repeated. (Read more here)

"Today it is Britain, tomorrow it could be any one of us" is the argument which had brought all these five countries together, sources told PTI, adding, "If the one (of the P5) is going to be knocked off today, the others fear that they might be knocked off tomorrow."

3. UNGA's vote in India's favour reflects new global order: In the 11 rounds of the election as of Sunday, Bhandari had been receiving the support of nearly two-thirds of the members of the General Assembly but was trailing by three votes against Greenwood in the Security Council. According to reports, the voting in the General Assembly, which overwhelmingly favoured India, is reflective of the new global order, which is not pleasant to the world powers.

Further, according to reports, it was understood that both New Delhi and the Permanent Mission of India to the UN had been working overtime to convince the members of the Security Council on the need to go by the voice of the majority of the General Assembly.

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