Miriam loses ICJ bid

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines lost yesterday its bid for a seat in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal organ of the United Nations, but the country reportedly put up a good fight that forced voting to go on for an entire day.

The General Assembly and the Security Council elected five judges to serve nine years on the ICJ starting early next year.

After simultaneous but separate meetings throughout the day at UN Headquarters in New York, the Council and the Assembly re-elected two judges whose terms were due to expire and chose three new judges to serve on the ICJ, which is based in The Hague and is also known as the World Court.

The Philippine Mission to the United Nations said Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago came in strong during the initial voting, but had to yield the fifth and final seat in the international court to Somalia during the fourth round of balloting.

Ambassador Hilario Davide Jr., Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo, who led Filipino diplomats in the final stretch of the yearlong campaign, said the Philippines still emerged victorious despite the setback.

Davide lauded Santiago for accepting the nomination to become the second Filipino to serve in the ICJ.

“This is still a victory for the Philippines. We may have not won the seat but our campaign heightened the awareness of the international community on the need for gender balance and empowerment of women in the world’s major judicial organ,” Davide said.

“Senator Santiago has proved herself worthy of the campaign and has heightened the respect of the international community for herself and her country,” Davide said. 

He noted that Santiago, who sought to replicate the election to the ICJ of former Supreme Court chief justice Cesar Bengson in 1966, emerged in the top five in the first round of balloting in the General Assembly but was not able to muster enough votes in the Security Council, that forced both UN organs to go into subsequent rounds of voting to determine who among the four remaining candidates will fill up the last vacant seat.

He said “for the Philippines’ to be in the top five during the first round, despite the fact that she was up against a reelectionist vice president of the court and for voting to go all the way to the fourth round was an indication that she was a strong contender for the position.”

Santiago, the lone female in the race, was able to count on the support of member states that saw the need to ensure gender balance in the court.

“In the end, however, it was regional representation and not gender balance that determined the final outcome. Member states felt that Africa somehow needed to be represented there at The Hague since Asia was already able to secure a seat with the reelection of Jordan in the first round,” he said.

Diplomatic sources earlier said Santiago’s strongest rival for the seat in the UN’s principal judicial organ, Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh of Jordan, has been the vice president of the Court since Feb. 6, 2006, and sought re-election.

Santiago was nominated on July 20, 2007 to the ICJ by the Philippine National Group composed of Supreme Court Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, retired Supreme Court associate justice Florentino Feliciano, then Integrated Bar of the Philippines national president Atty. Jose Vicente Salazar, and University of Santo Tomas Faculty of Civil Law Dean Alfredo Benipayo.

Chief Justice Reynato Puno, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Philippine Bar Association, Philippine Women Judges Association Inc., Philippine Association of Law Schools, and Philippine Association of Law, endorsed her candidature.

Santiago’s nomination to the ICJ was announced by President Arroyo during the ASEAN Ministers’ meeting on July 30, 2007.

Romulo had ordered all ambassadors and consul generals abroad to support the Philippine campaign for Santiago to the ICJ.

The Philippines campaigned hard to get the support of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other countries for Santiago.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Francis Escudero, Edgardo Angara, and Juan Miguel Zubiri were sorry that Santiago lost her bid.

“This would have been our brightest chance and the non-election would take us another several decades, I believe, before we can put in a Filipino. The last time we had a Filipino chief justice) was half a century ago, in the 60s so sayang naman,” Angara lamented.

For Pimentel, “It’s ICJ’s loss, not Miriam’s.”

Escudero echoed Pimentel’s statement, adding that Santiago would have been an asset to the ICJ, while Zubiri said Santiago’s loss does not diminish her credibility as a lawmaker in the country.

“She was deserving of the position. Magaling siya. Dito sa Senado siya ang aming constitutionalist and legal luminary,” Zubiri said. “But again it will be a gain to the Philippines because that means she will continue to fiscalize. She will continue to assist us in the Senate.”

Enrile said its not easy for anybody to just get the ICJ seat because it will take a lot of effort on the candidate’s part.

In Malacañang, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said Santiago would have been a good addition to the tribunal with her expertise in international law and as a representative of the Philippines.

A strong ally of the President and a powerful voice in the Senate, Santiago previously applied and lost in her bid to become a member of the Supreme Court.

Santiago is currently the chairwoman of the Senate committee on foreign relations.

“Senator Miriam is probably more needed here,” Dureza said. – With Christina Mendez, Marvin Sy