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INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

What do you do when you have an argument with someone that is difficult to
solve? Have you ever heard of "conflict resolution"? Do you know what happens
when whole countries find themselves in disagreement over something?

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VAIA EDITORIAL TEAM

Team International Court of Justice Teachers

 * 14 minutes reading time
 * Checked by Vaia Editorial Team

Save Article Save Article
 * Civil Liberties vs Civil Rights
 * Comparative Politics
 * Foundations of American Democracy
 * Political Ideology
 * Political Participation
 * UK Government
 * UK Politics
 * US Government Structure
 * World Politics
   
    * African Union
    * Arab League
    * Bretton Woods Conference
    * Challenge of Climate Change
    * Climate Policies
    * Debate on Environmental Issues
    * Economic Regionalism
    * European Court Of Human Rights
    * G20
    * G7
    * Globalisation and the Environment
    * Humanitarian Intervention
    * Impact of Globalisation on the State
    * Intergovernmental Organisations
    * International Climate Change Agreements
    * International Court of Justice
    * International Law
    * International Monetary Fund
    * Ipcc
    * Liberalism and Globalisation
    * Models of Development
    * NGOs
    * New World Order
    * Power in International Relations
    * Process of Globalisation
    * Realism and Globalisation
    * Regional Organisations
    * Regionalism
    * State Sovereignty
    * The EU
    * The UN General Assembly
    * The UN Security Council
    * The World Bank
    * Types of Globalisation
    * UN Human Rights
    * UNFCCC
    * USMCA
    * United Nations
    * Western Intervention
    * World Superpowers

Contents
 * Civil Liberties vs Civil Rights
 * Comparative Politics
 * Foundations of American Democracy
 * Political Ideology
 * Political Participation
 * UK Government
 * UK Politics
 * US Government Structure
 * World Politics
   
    * African Union
    * Arab League
    * Bretton Woods Conference
    * Challenge of Climate Change
    * Climate Policies
    * Debate on Environmental Issues
    * Economic Regionalism
    * European Court Of Human Rights
    * G20
    * G7
    * Globalisation and the Environment
    * Humanitarian Intervention
    * Impact of Globalisation on the State
    * Intergovernmental Organisations
    * International Climate Change Agreements
    * International Court of Justice
    * International Law
    * International Monetary Fund
    * Ipcc
    * Liberalism and Globalisation
    * Models of Development
    * NGOs
    * New World Order
    * Power in International Relations
    * Process of Globalisation
    * Realism and Globalisation
    * Regional Organisations
    * Regionalism
    * State Sovereignty
    * The EU
    * The UN General Assembly
    * The UN Security Council
    * The World Bank
    * Types of Globalisation
    * UN Human Rights
    * UNFCCC
    * USMCA
    * United Nations
    * Western Intervention
    * World Superpowers

Contents

Jump to a key chapter

 * International Court of Justice definition
 * Rules of the International Court of Justice
 * International Court of Justice functions
 * International Court of Justice facts
 * International Court of Justice cases
 * International Court of Justice criticisms
 * International Court of Justice - Key takeaways
 * References

In this article, we will look closely at the International Court of Justice
(ICJ), which is the highest internationally recognised institution with the role
of helping countries solve their conflicts. We will also look at the ICJ's
history, its functions and limitations, and its powers.


INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE DEFINITION

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), also called the World Court or simply
"the Court", is based in the Peace Palace in the Hague, Netherlands. The ICJ is
the world's highest court and the main judicial organ of the United Nations.

So what does it do? The role of the ICJ is to maintain international peace by
helping to diffuse crises, normalising relations, and re-starting deadlocked
negotiations through the settlement of disputes or by stating the law on the
specific questions.



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Fig. 1 The Peace Palace, the Hague


HISTORY OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

The idea of an international court is centuries old. At the end of the 18th
century, the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) was created with the objective
to ensure peace and curb the development of armaments. The PCS is the oldest
organisation for the resolution of international disputes and the Peace Palace
in the Hague, was built to house it.

The PCS's remit was broad and it included resolving conflicts over territorial
and maritime boundaries, human rights violations, state sovereignty, and trade
disputes.

Disagreements on how to appoint the judges of the PCA, as well as the breakout
and then the end of World War 1, meant that the PCA was replaced by a court, not
of arbitration, but of justice. This was the Permanent Court of International
Justice (PCIJ).

The main innovations brought by the founding of the PCIJ were:

 * its permanence;

 * the fact that the appointed judges better represented the world and all of
   its legal systems;

 * and the fact that its Statute was the first to list the laws it would draw
   from to reach its conclusions.

These three factors meant that, over time, the PCIJ's ruling started developing
international law.

Between 1922 and 1940 the PCIJ heard around 30 cases and gave nearly as many
advisory proceedings. Then, due to the outbreak of World War 2, the PCIJ and the
League of Nations were dissolved and replaced respectively by the International
Court of Justice and the United Nations in 1945.

The ICJ's Statute, in turn, drew heavily from the PCIJ's.

Arbitration vs Justice:

Arbitration is a way of solving conflicts that historically precede judicial
settlement. In an arbitration court, the conclusions of a dispute are reached by
an independent third party and are binding for the disputing parties. In a
Justice court, a bench of judges reaches their conclusions, based on the
existing legislation, and through much stricter procedures.


RULES OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

The court has 15 elected judges, there cannot be more than one judge from any
one country, and, as a whole, they have to represent the main legal systems of
the world.

This leads to the Court having 3 judges from Africa, 2 from Asia, 2 from Latina
America, 5 from western states, and 2 from eastern Europe.

Although not mandatory, historically there has almost always been 1 judge from
each of the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council.

The United Nations Security Council has 15 members, five of which are permanent.
The permanent members are the USA, the UK, China, France, and Russia due to
their victorious position at the end of World War II. The five permanent members
are also called P5 or the "big 5", and their role has evolved with the history
of the UN. Crucially, the role of a permanent member includes the right of veto.

The 15 judges are elected to nine-year terms by the UN General Assembly and the
Security Council. For continuity purposes, elections are staggered with a third
of the judges being elected every three years. Judges can be re-elected.

In turn, the judges elect their President and vice president who serve
three-year terms.

To encourage countries to bring cases to the Court, the Court allows for ad hoc
judges. This means that, in addition to the 15 judges, and for the time the
specific case is being dealt with, there can be also one judge representing the
state bringing the case to the court and one representing the defending state.

All UN countries can bring cases to the court, however, they are not
automatically subject to rulings by the Court, as the Court's jurisdiction is
subject to the individual states consenting to it permanently or on an ad hoc
basis. Once they consent, they are automatically bound to comply with its
decisions.

The Court's decisions, assuming consent has been given, are binding and final,
meaning they cannot be appealed against.



Case with Ad hoc judges. There's a current case being considered by the ICJ over
the use of the Silala aquifer and river between Chile and Bolivia. For this
case, two ad hoc judges, one from each disputing country, have joined the panel
of the ICJ.

Case lacking consent. In 1973 Pakistan brought a case to the court against India
in relation to prisoners of war. India states the court had no jurisdiction on
the matter. Pakistan and India negotiated outside the Court and the case was
removed from the Court's list.

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INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE FUNCTIONS

The ICJ has 2 main roles:

 * Contentious proceedings: where the Court makes decisions over disputes
   between states ( these are also called contentious cases). Contentious
   proceedings take up 80% of the Court's work.

 * Advisory proceedings: where the Court responds to legal questions by the
   general assembly, security council, and other UN organs. This function can be
   for the purpose of interpreting international law or to support the peaceful
   resolution of a conflict between states bourne out of a legal matter.


INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE: CONTENTIOUS PROCEEDINGS

Contentious proceedings are when the court is asked, by one or more of its
member states, to resolve a contentious issue arising with or against another
state. A state can also bring to the court an issue affecting one or more of its
citizens, who has been wronged by another state.

In its rulings, the ICJ applies international law and conventions, human rights
law, and, in special circumstances and if the states agree, it can use a broader
sense of "fairness". Its rulings, in turn, have contributed to the development
of international law.

The ICJ hasn't got the power to enforce its own rulings. When necessary, the
injured state can request for the UN Security Council to enforce the ICJ's
decision.

All UN member states, who are automatically members of the Court's statute, are
entitled to bring disputes to it. Other non-UN states also have access to it
under certain conditions which are decided each time by the General Assembly.

Due to the length of its proceedings, the ICJ can, in relevant circumstances,
impose precautionary measures on the countries involved while all the facts are
looked at and a decision is made. These precautionary measures are automatically
binding as their purpose is to prevent any further potential wrongdoing. Not
respecting these precautionary measures is a breach of the state's international
obligations, and whether the states abided by them or not, will be included in
the final account.

If a state is found, under ICJ rulings, to have carried out an internationally
wrongful act, then the ICJ will expect the state to make full reparation to the
injured state. It is not the ICJ's role to define what the reparation will
involve, the Court will, instead, oversee the negotiation between the States,
for them to reach an agreeable deal. If they cannot reach this, and if it their
disagreement bears a legal nature, rather than a financial one, then they can
submit a new case to the court.

UN Security Council: this is the organ of the United Nations responsible for
maintaining international peace and security.

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INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE: ADVISORY PROCEEDINGS

Advisory proceedings are when an organ of the United Nations (and not individual
countries) asks the Court for its interpretation or opinion on a legal matter
upon which its activities depend.

Unlike contentious proceedings, and except in a few cases, advisory proceedings
are not binding, therefore the answers of the Court do not have to be abided by.
However, given the Court's authority and its role in preventing conflicts and
maintaining peace, the Court's advisory opinions are regarded as contributing to
the clarification and development of international law, and therefore they are
very seldom not abided by.


INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE FACTS

The ICJ is the only UN body that is not based in the USA and it's different from
the International Criminal Court because, unlike the latter, it does not try
individuals due to their individual wrongdoings under international law,
instead, as discussed, it deals with conflicts between states.

Then ICJ has two official languages French and English, so all the cases, and
the documents it produces, have to be in both languages.

The Court is the only UN body that is administratively independent of the
General Council and is seen as very economically efficient as its budget is less
than 1% of the UN budget.

The Court's hearings are public unless the parties involved decided to keep them
private.

On the 7th and 8th of March 2022 the ICJ held a public hearing at the Peace
Palace on the request for the indication of provisional measures presented by
Ukraine in relation to allegations of genocide by the Russian Federations. This
hearing can also be found on the UN's website.

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INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE CASES

Since its first case in 1947, the ICJ has ruled over 183 cases as of the 22nd of
April 2022.

Initially, all applications for cases were entered into the Court's list; the
cases that did not receive consent from the states involved were subsequently
closed. In 1978, the rules were changed and now the Court's registrar only
enters the cases that have received consent.


CORFU CHANNEL (UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND V. ALBANIA)

The very first case was brought to the court by the United Kingdom against
Albania over access to the Corfu channel. In 1946, United Kingdom's warships,
while crossing the channel and entering Albania's territorial waters without
consent were fired upon by Albania. Subsequent UK warships passing the channel
struck mines and were damaged which lead to significant loss of life. The UK
stated that it had the right to be there on a minesweeping mission. Albania
stated that the UK had violated its sovereignty by being in the channel without
its consent. The Court ruled that Albania should compensate the UK for the loss
of life and should have made the UK aware of the risks involved in crossing the
channel. However, the Court also was not persuaded by the UK's argument that its
minesweeping mission was legitimate. The long-term significance of this case
lies in providing the motivation to further develop the Law of the Sea with a
specific focus on defining "innocent passage".

In the Law of the Sea, the concept of innocent passage, allows foreign vessels
access to other countries' territorial waters on the grounds that the passage
does not compromise the peace and safety of the coastal state.


MILITARY AND PARAMILITARY ACTIVITIES IN AND AGAINST NICARAGUA (NICARAGUA V.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA)

Another significant case was the 1984 Nicaragua V United States case. The long
and contentious background history between these two states dates back to 1909
when the US president ordered an armed intervention to overthrow the Nicaraguan
president. Since then there have been repeated military and paramilitary
interventions by the US against Nicaragua and in support of a political system
in Nicaragua that would support US interests. Nicaragua brought this case to the
ICJ who ruled in favour of Nicaragua. The US both questioned the jurisdiction of
the court and subsequently withdrew its consent from the court. When the US
refused to comply with the decision of the Court stating that it should pay
reparation, the case was brought to the UN Security Council where the US vetoed
it.

This case led to the definition in international law of the right to
self-defence. More crucially It also highlighted some of the shortcomings of the
effectiveness of the ICJ.

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INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE CRITICISMS

One of the main points of criticism against the court is one of impartiality. In
an article by Eric A. Posner and Miguel F. P. de Figueiredo1, in which they
tested the charge of bias using statistical methods, the judges of the ICJ were
found to be biased towards the states that appointed them and states with a
similar level of wealth as theirs. Additionally, Posner and Figueiredo found
some evidence to suggest that the judges were biased toward states with similar
political systems and cultures to theirs. Such a study highlights how political
alliances are perceived to influence the legal decisions of the ICJ.

Another criticism of the ICJ is that there is no true separation between it and
the Security Council. The permanent members of the Security Council can veto the
enforcement of cases, as in the example above of Nicaragua v. USA. Whenever this
happens, the authority and efficacy of the ICJ is undermined.

Lastly, the Court is criticised due to the lack of representation of ethnic
minorities within states. as discussed above, a state can choose to represent
the interests of some of its citizens against another state, however ethnic
minorities would be wholly unrepresented within this system.


INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE - KEY TAKEAWAYS

 * The International Court of Justice is the highest court in the world.
 * The ICJ was founded in 1945 and it's a successor of the Permanent Court of
   Arbitration (PCA) and the Permanent Court for International Justice (PCIJ)
 * The ICJ has 15 elected judges who represent the main civilisations and legal
   systems of the world.
 * The ICJ has two main jurisdictions: contentious proceedings and advisory
   proceedings.
 * Contentious proceedings are brought to the Court by States and are binding
   following consent by the states.
 * Advisory proceedings are brought to the court by organs of the UN and are not
   binding.
 * The Court's rulings contribute to the continuous development of international
   law.
 * The Court is criticised on grounds of bias and lack of impartiality.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


REFERENCES

 1. Eric A. Posner and Miguel F. P. de Figueiredo, Is the International Court of
    Justice biased?, The Journal of Legal Studies, Volume 34, Number 2, 2005
 2. Fig. 1 The Peace Palace, the Hague
    (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Den_Haag_Peace_Palace_(1).jpg) by
    Dierk Shaefer(https://www.flickr.com/photos/26480501@N06) licenced CC BY
    2.0(https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-2.0.html)

FLASHCARDS IN INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE 3

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What states are represented by the International court of justice?

All UN member states, plus other states under certain conditions

When was the International Court of Justice founded

1945

Are the International Court of Justice rulings binding?

The rulings of the International Court of Justice are binding only following
consent by the states.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE

What powers does the International Court of Justice have?

The ICJ decides over disputes between states and gives advisory opinions to
organs of the UN but it does not have enforcement powers for which it relies on
the Security council.

What does the international court of justice do?

The ICJ decides over disputes between states and gives advisory opinions to
organs of the UN

What cases go to the International Court of Justice?

Only legal, not political disputes, can be brought to the ICJ.

Are the judgments of the international court of justice binding?

The judgments of the ICJ are only binding following the states' consent.

How does the International Court of Justice promote human rights?

The ICJ promotes human rights by basing its decision on international law,
including human rights law, and by continually developing human rights law
through its advisory proceedings

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