INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

International Court of Justice

International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice

The ICJ is one of the principal organs of the UN. The ICJ can hear cases on any subject matter brought to the Court by states, so long as it finds that the states concerned have consented to the jurisdiction of the Court. Expressions of consent may have been open-ended or relate only to the case in question. The Court can issue an order for provisional measures—the equivalent of an interim injunction—which is designed to protect the rights of parties during the period before the Court decides on the case itself. The Court has averaged less than three cases per year but has become increasingly busy in recent years. States have complied with the judgments of the Court in a majority of, though not all, contentious cases, but compliance with provisional measures has not been good.

In its 2001 decision in the LaGrand Case, the Court confirmed that orders of the Court indicating provisional measures are binding. Should a party to a dispute heard by the Court not comply with the decision of the Court, the other party/parties may request the assistance of the Security Council in obtaining compliance. This would clearly politicize the question and would not be useful if the grievance were against one of the permanent members of the Security Council. The Council has never formally declared that it is acting to enforce a decision of the ICJ (Goldworthy 1974, 258).

In addition to hearing contentious cases brought by states, the ICJ can respond to requests by certain bodies within the UN for advisory opinions. These are nonbinding responses to questions of law. Examples include the 1995 opinion on the legality of the threat of use of nuclear weapons and the 2003 opinion on the legal consequences of the construction of a wall in the occupied Palestinian territory.

The International Court of Justice is one of the principal organs of the United Nations. Article 92, in fact, the United Nations Charter states that the Court is the principal organ of the United Nations. Thus, the Court, the previous Permanent Court of International Justice, was inserted into the new international organization. In fact, the CPGI, although desired by the League of Nations, was not a de jure part.

Two important consequences flow from the special status of the Court with respect to the United Nations. First, in the exercise of his duties as a judicial-type litigation or advisory, the Court must adhere to the purposes and principles set out in Articles 1 and 2 of the Charter of the United Nations. One of these purposes is intrinsically connected to both the existence and function of the Court, if necessary, carry, thanks to the peaceful means in accordance with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of disputes, is international, likely to cause the rupture of peace (Gross 1964, 415).

Secondly, given the responsibilities of his position as the main judicial organ of the United Nations, ...