Slovakian Judge Peter Tomka was Monday elected new president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN's highest court said in a statement.

"Judge Peter Tomka was today elected president of the ICJ by his peers and Judge Bernardo Sepulveda-Amor of Mexico was elected vice-president, each for a term of three years," the ICJ said.

Tomka, 55, joined the court in 2003 and follows Japanese Judge Hisashi Owada, who returns as an ordinary member to a 15-judge bench which rules in disputes between states.

Sepulveda-Amor, 60, who has been a member of the court since 2006, meanwhile succeeds Tomka, the court's previous vice president.

Established in 1945 and based in The Hague, the ICJ is the only one of the six main United Nations organs not located in New York.