Nagendra Singh ran India’s national election, then left to judge the world’s biggest disputes between nations. Within thirteen years, he went from Chief Election Commissioner of India to President of the International Court of Justice, the first Indian to hold either position.
Must Know
- Nagendra Singh was born on 18 March 1914, in Dungarpur, Rajasthan. He died on 11 December 1988, in The Hague, Netherlands.
- He was educated at Mayo College and at St John’s College, Cambridge. He then joined the Indian Civil Service (ICS).
- Singh served as Secretary to the President of India, from 1966 to 1972.
- He was India’s 4th Chief Election Commissioner, from 1 October 1972 to 6 February 1973.
- In 1973, Singh became a judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. He was the first Indian judge at the ICJ.
- He served as ICJ Vice-President from 1976 to 1979, and as ICJ President from 1985 to 1988.
- Singh was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1973, India’s second-highest civilian honour.
Good to Know
- Before his ICJ years, Singh held several senior civil service posts. These included Regional Commissioner for the Eastern States, Joint Secretary in the Defence Ministry, and Director-General of Transport.
- He was also a member of the Constituent Assembly of India, which drafted India’s Constitution.
- Singh represented India at the United Nations General Assembly, in 1966, 1969, and 1975. He also served part-time on the UN International Law Commission, from 1967 to 1972.
- He was elected Secretary of the International Bar Association.
- Only four Indians have ever served as judges of the ICJ. They are B.N. Rau (1952-53), Nagendra Singh (1973-88), R.S. Pathak (1989-91, also India’s 18th Chief Justice), and Dalveer Bhandari (since 2012).
- Singh preceded ICJ President Taslim Elias and was succeeded as President by José Ruda.
- He was a prolific author on international law, and taught at several leading universities during his career.
Test Yourself
Great to Know
- Singh’s career path was unusual even among ICJ judges. He moved from Secretary to the President, to Chief Election Commissioner, to ICJ judge, all in a single decade, without ever serving as a judge in the Indian judicial system first.
- That path differs from R.S. Pathak, another Indian ICJ judge, who reached the ICJ after already serving as India’s Chief Justice. Singh’s route ran through India’s civil service and administration instead.
- Being both a former Chief Election Commissioner and an ICJ judge gave Singh a rare dual perspective: running one country’s elections, then adjudicating disputes between nations.
- For the institution he once led in India, see Polity0057 — The Election Commission and Electoral Reforms.
Beyond the answer
Browse all indian-polity-and-constitution topics →
📚 Keep reading
Polity0377 — Article 324: Election Commission's Powers of SuperintendencePolity0052 — The Supreme CourtPolity0047 — The President of IndiaPolity0375 — Women in the Higher Judiciary: Representation and the Road AheadPolity0048 — The Vice-President of India❓ Practice this topic
On 11 December 2023, the Supreme Court ruled on the 2019 abrogation of Article 370. What did it decide?Presidential Order C.O. 272, issued on 5 August 2019, made which key legal change to remove Article 370?Under Article 370(3), before the President could declare the article inoperative, whose recommendation was required?Under the original Article 370, Parliament's power to make laws for Jammu and Kashmir on Union and Concurrent List matters was limited to which subjects, without the State's concurrence?🎲 Take a Indian Polity And Constitution Quiz
Leave a Reply