Pretoria - Deputy Justice Minister Andries Nel has congratulated the six judges who have been elected to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The elections were held at the Assembly of States Parties of the ICC currently underway in the United Nations headquarters in New York, where Nel is leading the South African delegation.
The six judges are Anthony Carmona of Trinidad and Tobago; Miriam Defensor-Santiago of Philippines; Robert Fremr of Czech Republic; Olga Herrera Carbuccia of Dominican Republic; Howard Morrison of the UK and Chile Eboe-Usuji of Nigeria.
They will serve for a period of nine years starting in 2012 when their predecessors' terms end.
The Judicial Divisions of the Court consist of 18 judges organised into the Pre-Trial Division, Trial Division and Appeals Division. The judges of each division are responsible for conducting the court's proceedings at different stages.
The court is led by Sang-Hyun Song of the Republic of Korea and currently includes judges from Mali, Germany, Costa Rica, Ghana, Finland, Latvia, United Kingdom, Brazil, Bulgaria, Uganda, France, Kenya, Botswana, Belgium, Italy, Argentina, Japan and Bolivia.
Nel reiterated South Africa's support for the court and noted that currently, five of the court's 18 judges were from African states.
