New president of International Court of Justice elected

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Japanese Hisashi Owada has been elected the new president of the International Court of Justice. APA reports that Owada, 76, will succeed Rosalyn Higgins. Slovakian judge Peter Tomka, 52, was elected vice-president of the court.
The leadership of the court is elected every three years by secret ballot. 15 judges of the International Court of Justice participate in the voting.
Hisashi Owada has been judge of the court since 2003. He has also been judge of the Permanent Court of Arbitration since 2001. From 1994 to 1998, he served as Japanese Ambassador to the United Nations. He graduated from Harvard University.
The international Court of Justice adjudicates disputes between U.N. member states, passes judgments basing on the questionnaires of the UN General Assembly or UN Security Council.