Electing the best to lead the fight against impunity. 

6 judicial vacancies |  9-year terms  |  Elected at the 25th ASP session  in New York, December 2026

Governments must elect the best leaders to the International Criminal Court and the Assembly of States Parties to ensure both bodies function effectively and impartially. At its twenty-fifth session, the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute (ASP) will elect six judges to fill one-third of the International Criminal Court’s 18 judicial seats, following the regular three-year election cycle. The six newly elected judges will each serve for a nine-year term from 2027 to 2036. 

Judicial elections are among the most significant governance functions of the Assembly. The quality, independence, and diversity of the Court’s bench directly shape the ICC’s credibility, jurisprudential development, and operational performance. The Rome Statute establishes a detailed legal framework designed to ensure that judges are selected on the basis of merit, integrity, and representativeness, while subsequent Assembly resolutions have progressively strengthened transparency and due diligence safeguards. 

We are campaigning for states to nominate and elect highly-qualified and independent candidates to key positions in the Rome Statute system through fair, transparent, and merit-based nomination and election processes.

READ the COALITION MEMO ON THE 2026 ICC JUDICIAL ELECTIONS

Wanted: Highly qualified candidates to become ICC judges

Candidates nominated by States Parties:

Due diligence process for judicial candidates 

The Rome Statute is clear: judicial candidates must be chosen from among persons of high moral character, impartiality and integrity (Article 36, paragraph 3(a) of the Rome Statute). Consequently, in December 2023 at its 22nd session, the Assembly established a permanent due diligence procedure. 

In accordance with the process, a confidential channel has been opened for the submission of any allegation of candidates' “human rights violations, incidents of harassment, including sexual harassment, abuse of authority, discrimination and bullying in the workplace, as well as other ethical or legal breaches of a serious nature such as fraud or corruption”.  

Allegations can be reported to the Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM) by Sunday 31 May 2026 at IOM.Vetting@icc-cpi.int.  

The allegations and their review by the IOM will be kept confidential at all times and will be treated in accordance with the process of due diligence. The identity of the complainant will not be disclosed without prior consent. The IOM can also be contacted directly at the above email address with any questions regarding the process.  

READ MORE ON VETTING FOR ICC AND ASP ELECTIONS

The ICC Judicial Elections explained

ICC judges oversee proceedings, ensure fair trials and authorise victims’ participation, issue decisions in accordance with the rules and practices of the Court, including arrest warrants or summonses to appear, among others.

But how do judicial elections work at the International Criminal Court? Watch the ICC judicial elections process explained in this video.

The video is also available with subtitles in French, Spanish, and Arabic. 

Timeline for the 2026 judicial elections 

  • 5 January 2026: Opening of the nomination period for 12 weeks. 
  • 30 March 2026: End of the initial nomination period. Not all minimum requirements for the nomination of judges were met, the nomination period for the election of judges was therefore been extended until Sunday, 12 April 2026.
  • 13 April 2026: Not all minimum requirements for the nomination of judges had been met regarding the Asia-Pacific group, therefore the nomination period for the election of judges was further extended until Sunday, 26 April 2026.
  • 28 April 2026: The nomination period was extended for a third time as not all minimum requirements for the nomination of judges had been met regarding the Asia-Pacific group. The nomination period was extended for the final time until Sunday, 10 May 2026.
  • 31 May 2026: Any allegation of misconduct as defined above may be reported confidentially no later than 31 May 2026, to the Independent Oversight Mechanism (IOM), a subsidiary body of the Assembly, at the following email address: IOM.Vetting@icc-cpi.int
  • By Monday 17 August 2026 (at least 16 weeks before the elections take place): Submission of the Advisory Committee on Nominations assessment to the Assembly of States Parties.
  • October/November 2026:  The ASP Bureau will facilitate public roundtable discussions to be held with all candidates.
  • 7 to 17 December 2026 (ASP25): ICC States Parties elect 6 new ICC judges, during the first week of the session. 
  • March 2027:Beginning of the mandates of the 6 new judges

Minimum Voting Requirements for the 2026 judicial elections 

Voting at each judicial election is governed by a procedure aimed at ensuring that the ICC bench is balanced with respect to three criteria: 

  • Competence and expertise, or List A and List B; 

  • Equitable geographical representation; 

  • A fair representation of female and male judges. 

  

Minimum voting requirements in place at the 2026 elections 

ICC states parties should vote for at least: