International Court of Justice

International Court of Justice
Peace Palace
2517 KJ The Hague
The Netherlands

Telephone (31) (0)70 302 23 23
Telefax (31) (0)70 364 99 28
Telex 32323
information@icj-cij.org
webmaster@icj-cij.org

CONTENTS

· Primer

· General Information

· Annual Reports to the General Assembly

· Current Information

· Decisions of the Court

· Constitutive Instruments

· Court Documents

· Publications

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Primer - International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the main judicial organ of the United Nations. It replaced the Permanent Court of International Justice after World War II, when it was made part of the UN Charter drafted in San Francisco in 1945. The ICJ owes its existence to a heightened awareness, since the dawning of the atomic age, that the future of the human race may depend upon a viable alternative to war. At the time, it was envisioned that the World Court, as it is usually known, would become the central site to settle major international disputes in a peaceful manner. As of 2000, those expectations had not been met, although the Court does render judgments, generally on a smaller scale, from time to time.

The World Court is made up of 15 judges; no two are from the same nation. They are elected by the UN General Assembly, recommended by the Security Council, but they do not have life tenure. World Court judges serve for a period of nine years and may be reelected. This body, which remains permanently in session, generally meets at its seat in The Hague, the Netherlands, although it can hold sessions anywhere in the world it so chooses. The official court languages are English and French. Deliberations of the ICJ are carried out in private, but the judgments, by majority vote, are read in open court and handed down in both languages. The World Court elects its own president and vice president as well as the registrar. Both the president and registrar are required to live in The Hague.

All members of the United Nations are eligible to bring cases before the ICJ, as are other states such as Switzerland who are parties to the Court statute but are not UN members. A case is brought before the World Court by notifying it of a special agreement made between two parties or by one party sending a written application to the registrar. When it so decides, the ICJ may hear witnesses to the case or appoint experts to make an investigation and report back. This procedure was followed, for instance, in the Corfu Channel case, a 1949 dispute between Great Britain and Albania. Sometimes it works the other way. In the 1966 case involving Ethiopia and Liberia versus South Africa, the latter asked the Court to conduct an on-site inspection, which was refused.

The main obstacle to any decision rendered by the Court is, of course, the question of enforcement. Who carries out the Court’s decisions if the affected party or parties refuse to obey? The United Nations has no standing army to enforce the peace or see that disputes are settled according to Court dictates. Delegates to the UN conference in 1945 realized this, of course, and decided that If any party to a case fails to perform the obligations incumbent upon it under a judgment rendered by the Court, the other party may have recourse to the Security Council. Since the Security Council does have power and authority to organize troops, for instance, presumably the delegates have felt an unobeyed Court decision might be settled through the UN proper. Oddly enough, perhaps, only twice since the first Court case in 1946 have the parties failed to heed the Court’s decisions. Albania refused to pay Great Britain compensation that the Court ordered in the Corfu Channel case, and in 1984, Nicaragua was awarded reparations from the United States, which it claimed had violated international law. When Nicaragua tried to go the Security Council, the United States, which has veto power, blocked its appeal.

In addition to court decisions, the ICJ gives legal opinions as well when asked in writing by members. For instance, the Court rendered a legal opinion when the General Assembly and Security Council could not come to terms on who had authority for assessing UN expenses. Since its inception, the International Court of Justice has had its backers and detractors. Some argue that even without a military force to stand behind its decisions, the World Court is a real force in deciding some small but contentious problems that can sometimes become major obstacles to peace. Others claim the ICJ may indeed be all that, but with its inability to force any major world power, such as the United States, to obey its rule of law, it can never achieve the initial objective of becoming a politically viable alternative to war.

World of Criminal Justice, Gale (2002)

General Information

The Court at a Glance: A short description of the role and functioning of the Court
A guide to the history, composition, jurisdiction, procedure and decisions of the Court
Current composition
Biographies of Members of the Court

Annual Reports to the General Assembly

Current Information

Decisions of the Court

All contentious cases and advisory opinions referred to the Court since 1946, including Contentious Cases listed in alphabetical order by country.
Decisions of the Permanent Court of International Justice (1922-1946), please click here.

Constitutive Instruments

Court Documents

Publications - How to order