Dalveer Bhandari Wrests International Court of Justice Seat. Here's a Look At His Career So Far

New Delhi: Dalveer Bhandari, India’s nominee to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) was on Monday re-elected to the fifth and last seat of the world court after Britain withdrew its candidate. It was a close fight between Bhandari and Britain’s Christopher Greenwood.

Bhandari managed to bag 183 of 193 votes in the 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.

News18 Jots Down All That You Need to Know About Justice Bhandari:

#1 Justice Dalveer Bhandari was born on October 1, 1947. He graduated in humanities and law from Jodhpur University.

#2 Justice Bhandari went on to become an advocate at the Rajasthan High Court in 1968. He then went to the United States to pursue a Masters degree in Law. On return, he continued to practice law at the Rajasthan HC and became a judge after a distinguished career as an attorney.

#3 Justice Bhandari served as a judge in India for over 20 years before being elevated to the UN court. He served as a senior judge in the Supreme Court from 2005 till 2012. He has also served as a judge at the Delhi High Court and Bombay High Court.

#4 In one of his landmark Supreme Court judgments, Justice Bhandari granted divorce to a couple on grounds of "irretrievable breakdown of marriage". The government is now considering incorporating his suggestion for amendment of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.

#5 During his tenure as the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, he delivered a number of judgments, including one that led to a much larger allocation of funds for malnutrition in the five most backward districts of Maharashtra.

#6 Bombay High Court achieved the distinction of functioning on a full strength of 60 judges for the first time under Justice Bhandari. He also ensured that the strength of the court was increased from 60 to 75 judges.

#7 As a judge at the Delhi High Court, Justice Bhandari delivered several landmark judgments, including one that led to the closure of a 100-year-old slaughterhouse and construction of a new modernised facility.

#8 In 2007, he was unanimously elected President of the India International Law Foundation. Justice Bhandari has been an Executive Member of the International Law Association, India Chapter, since 1994.

#9 In February this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi released Justice Bhandari's book 'Judicial Reforms - Recent Global Trends' at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

#10 Justice Bhandari was overwhelmingly elected as a judge at the International Court of Justice in 2012, after a gap of over two decades. He obtained 122 votes at the UN General Assembly and 13 votes in the 15-nation Security Council against his Filipino rival Justice Florentino Feliciano, who received just 58 votes. Bhandari's term will continue till 2018.