VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUCNDT #0967 3111806
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071806Z NOV 07
FM USMISSION USUN NEW YORK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2982
INFO RUEHXX/GENEVA IO MISSIONS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM PRIORITY 0274
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE PRIORITY 8946

UNCLAS USUN NEW YORK 000967 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNSC UNGA KJUS PGOV
SUBJECT: UN: ICJ PRESIDENT HIGGINS LOBBIES FOR EQUAL PAY 
FOR JUDGES 
 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: Justice Rosalyn Higgins, President of the 
International Court of Justice (ICJ), met on November 2 with 
Ambassador Wallace to request USG assistance in redressing 
the "invidious situation" created by the General Assembly's 
decision in Resolution 61/262 to establish a different pay 
scale for ICJ judges appointed January 1, 2007 and thereafter 
compared to the salaries paid to judges already on the bench. 
 Justice Higgins said that not only was the GA's decision 
"not permitted" under the ICJ Statute, it also threatened to 
undermine "in practical terms" the ongoing functioning of the 
Court.  Ambassador Wallace responded that the U.S. and other 
Member States were scheduled to discuss this matter in the 
Fifth Committee (C-5) as part of the Committee's 
consideration of conditions of service for judges.  Justice 
Higgins' arguments certainly would be taken into account as 
part of that discussion, as will possible recommendations the 
SYG may make in his upcoming report on conditions governing 
service by judges.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2.  ICJ President Higgins met with Ambassador Wallace 
following her briefings to the UN Security Council and the UN 
General Assembly, as well as her meeting with members of the 
GA Sixth Committee (reported septel).  She explained to 
Wallace that paragraph 7 of GA Resolution 61/262, adopted in 
May 2007, established a serious inequality among the judges 
"which is prohibited under our Statute."  Higgins said that 
the GA action drew a distinction between judges of the Court 
appointed prior to January 1, 2007 and those subsequently 
selected that, in effect, undermined a fundamental principle 
of the Court.  Such discrepancies in treatment of the judges 
was unacceptable and, from a practical perspective, 
unworkable.  How could one judge earn more than another and 
still function with a sense of full equality with all other 
judges on the bench? 
 
¶3.  Justice Higgins appealed to Ambassador Wallace for USG 
assistance in crafting a viable way forward, since the status 
quo was not sustainable.  Ambassador Wallace noted that in 
the U.S. national judicial system, judges who served as 
chiefs of their respective courts and those with greater 
seniority received higher compensation than associate 
justices.  Judge Higgins argued that such an analogy did not 
apply in the case of ICJ justices who dealt with sovereign 
states on a regular basis.  "The judges can't work that way, 
nor will the judges sit in a manner that is contrary to the 
Statute." 
 
¶4.  Ambassador Wallace indicated that the GA's Fifth 
Committee was scheduled as part of its program of work for 
the 62nd UNGA session to address the issue of conditions of 
service for judges.  Wallace noted that Member States were 
expecting shortly to receive a report from the 
Secretary-General addressing compensation and pensions for 
 
SIPDIS 
judges - hence, Justice Higgins' views would be considered as 
part of the Fifth Committee's review of this agenda item. 
Higgins thanked Wallace, pointing out that the sitting ICJ 
judges were not looking for more salary or additional 
benefits, just equal treatment.  She said the current 
arrangements as called for under Resolution 61/262 could not 
be sustained and might well undermine identifying competent 
judges for service on the Court when ICJ elections are held 
in the fall 2008 as part of the 63rd GA. 
 
Khalilzad