Judges in the International Court of Justice are appointed for a period of _____ years.

Analyze the question: It asks for the length of a term of office for judges of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, based at The Hague, Netherlands.

Concept: Under the Statute of the ICJ:

• The Court has 15 judges.
• They are elected by the UN General Assembly and the Security Council voting independently.
• Each judge serves a term of nine years and may be re-elected.
• One-third of the Court (5 judges) is elected every three years, so the Court always has a mix of experienced and new judges. (3 × 5 = 15, and 3 years × 3 batches = 9 years.)

Solution:

• 12 years: not correct, since no ICJ term is this long.
• 5 years: this is the number of judges elected every three years, not the term length. This is a common trap.
• 4 years: not correct.
• 9 years: matches the ICJ Statute.

So the correct answer is D. nine.

Exam tip: Remember "15 judges, 9-year term, 5 elected every 3 years." Also remember that no two judges can be from the same country. Don't mix up the 5 judges elected every three years with the length of the term.