Jordanian diplomat elected judge of Int'l Court of Justice

Jordan's ambassador Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud to the United Nations was elected a judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Tuesday to replace Nawaf Salam, who resigned in January following his appointment as Lebanese prime minister.

Hmoud will serve the remainder of Salam's term at the ICJ, which lasts until Feb 5, 2027.

Hmoud, who was the sole candidate, won all the 15 votes in the Security Council and 178 votes at the General Assembly, with three of abstention.

Hmoud has been Jordan's UN ambassador since September 2021. He was Jordanian ambassador to Singapore between 2018 and 2021.

He was a member of the International Law Commission between 2007 and 2022, being chair of the commission during its 72nd session in 2021 and chair of the Drafting Committee in 2012.

Hmoud held several terms as legal advisor and director of the Legal Department of Jordan's Foreign Ministry between 1999 and 2018.

Under the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, the election of ICJ judges is through secret balloting at the Security Council and the General Assembly. A candidate has to obtain absolute majority in both chambers to get elected. Voting in the two chambers must be held concurrently but separately.

The Hague-based ICJ has 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office. Judges are eligible for re-election. Should a judge die or resign during his or her term of office, a special election is held to choose a judge to fill the unexpired part of the term.

The 15 judges must come from 15 different countries. The court as a whole must represent the main forms of civilization and the principal legal systems of the world.

Jordanian diplomat elected judge of Int'l Court of Justice

The fifth volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" has been published in French, Russian, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Japanese and traditional Chinese, according to an official statement issued Monday.

Published by the Foreign Language Press, the new volume contains a compilation of 91 spoken and written works of Xi, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, from May 27, 2022 to Dec. 20, 2024, along with 41 photographs taken during this period. It is divided into 18 sections by topic.

It documents the practices of the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core in promoting high-quality development, further advancing reform and opening up, and making solid progress toward building a modern socialist country in all respects, amid a severe and complex international environment and the arduous tasks of reform, development and maintaining stability at home, the statement said.

It fully reflects the wisdom and solutions contributed by the CPC to advancing the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, said the statement.

The simplified Chinese and English editions of the book were published in July 2025.

The first four volumes of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" came off the press in 2014, and have been published in multiple languages since then.

Fifth volume of "Xi Jinping: The Governance of China" published in more languages