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International Court of Justice
The International Court Of Justice (ICJ) is the principal
judicial organ of the United Nations, which succeeded the Permanent
court of International Justice after World War Two. It gains its
legitimacy from Article 92 of the UN Charter which allows it to
function " in accordance with the annexed Statute, which is based upon
the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice and forms
an integral part of the present Charter".
By Article 93 all members of the UN are ipso-facto members of
the Statute and that states not members may become parties, on
conditions to be determined in each case by the UN General Assembly on
recommendation of the Security Council. Therefore allowing countries
such as Switzerland and San Marino, though not members of the UN, to
be parties to the Statute of the Court.
The court consist of 15 judges, no two of whom may be
Nationals of the same state, elected by the General assembly and the
Security Council. They are elected for 9 years and are eligible for
reelections.
The seat of the court is in Hague, Holland, but it may hold
sessions elsewhere whenever it considers desirable. It is a continuing
body. The Statute provides that it is permanently in session except
during judicial vacations. It is also an autonomous body. It elects
its president and vice- president, appoints its registrar, and
provides for the appointment of other officers and clerical staff.
Its function is to pass judgement on disputes between states,
as such only states may bring their cases before the court. It is open
to all states that are party to the statute and those who agree to the
conditions laid down by the SC. The proceedings of the court are
carried out in French and English; either may be used by the parties.
Written pleading and oral presentations presented in one language are
translated into the other. The judgements and opinions are both in
French and English.
Cases are brought before the court either by the notification
to it of a special agreement concluded by the parties or by the
unilateral action of one of them through a written appeal to the
registrar. Its proceedings are in two parts, written and oral.
The Court may also hear witnesses and appoint commissions of
experts to make investigations and reports when necessary. These
procedures were used in the Corfu Channel, Temple of Preah Vihear and
in South West Africa(1966). The deliberation of the court are held in
private, but the judgements, which are by majority vote, are read in
open court. In the case of a tie, the President may cast a deciding
vote; this was done in the South West Africa Case where a 7-7 vote was
cast. Any judge may file a separate opinion if he does not agree in
whole or part with the judgement. The decision of the court is final
and without appeal.
Although the ICJ has no enforcement powers, Article 94 of the
Charter incorporates an undertaking on the part of each member of the
UN "to comply with the decision of the ... court...in any case to
which it is a party" and a further provision that:
IF any party to a case fails to perform the obligations
incumbent upon it under a judgement rendered by the court, the other
party may have recourse to the Security Council, which may, if it deem
necessary, make recommendations or decide upon measures to be taken to
give effect to the judgement.
The court is authorised by Article 65 of the Statute to give
advisory opinions on any legal questions at the request of whatever
body may be authorised by or in accordance with the UN Charter to make
such a request. Article 96 of the Charter provides that such opinions
may be requested by the General Assembly or the SC and by other organs
of the UN and specialized agencies, when authorised by the GA. Such
requests must be ma .. nquest, human rights and the rights of existence
and self-defence of a state. In addition the ICJ has helped resolve
disputes between states with some degree of success, and given the
numerous difficulties it faces, its achievements are respectable and
its usefulness is undeniable. Most importantly, the ICJ, at the very
least, provides an additional option for states to settle their
disputes peacefully through third party intervention, and this has
reduced the threat of open war.
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