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Chinese judge Shi Jiuyong has been elected by colleagues at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday to assume the presidency of the tribunal. It is the first time a Chinese national has presided over the ICJ since it was founded in 1946. Shi, 76, will replace outgoing president Gilbert Guillaume of France. Sixty-year-old Raymond Ranjeva of Madagascar was elected vice-president. Both men will serve a three-year term. The ICJ, composed of 15 judges, is the highest United Nations court and was set up to deal with disputes among states. The judges, from major cultures of the world, are elected by the UN General Assembly and the Security Council. Their term is nine years. Shi, a renowned Chinese expert on international law, was born in East China's Zhejiang Province and obtained his law education in Shanghai and the US-based Columbia University during the 1940s and 1950s. He devoted himself to law education and research for years in China after he returned. In addition, he acted as adviser for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Between 1987-93 period, Shi was elected a member of the UN International Law Committee. In 1993, Shi started to serve as judge of ICJ and in 2002 he was re-elected.