India’s nominee to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) Justice Dalveer Bhandari was re-elected to the last seat of the Hague-based world court on Monday, after Britain withdrew its candidate Christopher Greenwood from the election. Justice Bhandari received 183-193 votes in the United Nations General Assembly and secured all 15 votes in the Security Council after separate and simultaneous elections were held at the UN headquarters in New York. The elections were held after the United Kingdom, in a dramatic turn of events, withdrew from the race, paving way for Bhandari’s re-election to the prestigious world court.

Congratulating Justice Bhandari, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted, “Vande Matram — India wins election to the International Court of Justice. JaiHind. #ICJ.”

Britain congratulated Justice Bhandari on his re-election as well, and said it will continue to cooperate closely with India at the United Nations and globally.

Britain’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Matthew Rycroft, earlier in a statement, had informed that Britain would withdraw Greenwood as a candidate for re-election. “The UK has concluded that it is wrong to continue to take up the valuable time of the Security Council and the UN General Assembly with further rounds of elections,” he was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. Rycroft, on behalf of Britain, congratulated the successful candidates, including Judge Bhandari.

“We are naturally disappointed, but it was a competitive field with six strong candidates,” Rycroft said, reported PTI. “If the UK 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.”

Rycroft further said the UK will continue to support the work of the ICJ, “in line with our commitment to the importance of the rule of law in the UN system and in the international community more generally”.

(With inputs from PTI)