International Court of Justice

Introduction to International Court of Justice

International Court of Justice, also known as World Court, principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It was created in 1945 under the UN Charter as the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice under the League of Nations. The court functions in accordance with its own statute, which forms an integral part of the UN Charter. The tasks of the court are to decide legal cases between nations and to provide advisory opinions to the UN and its agencies on questions of international law. Neither private individuals nor international organizations may bring cases before the court. (…)

All members of the UN are automatically parties to the court’s statute. A nation that is not a UN member may become a party to the statute or use the court if it accepts conditions set by the UN and agrees to contribute to the expenses of the court.” (1)

Background

The International Court of Justice (I.C.J.), located at The Hague, The Netherlands, is the main judicial organ of the United Nations . It decides disputes between nations which have agreed to accept its jurisdiction, and gives advisory opinions(1). The I.C.J web site provides useful information on the Court, the history, composition, and jurisdiction of the Court, as well as biographies.

Historical Issues

As of July 1998, sixty states had accepted the jurisdiction of the Court (many with reservations) (2). The Court has recently strengthened its stature as the place to settle interstate disputes. The current President of the Court is Stephen M. Schwebel (U.S.A.) and the Vice-President is Christopher G. Weeramantry (Sri Lanka) . The fifteen judges are elected to nine-year terms. The Court itself issues press releases intended to keep the general public abreast of current developments. The Court provides a free e-mail subscription for its releases, and they are also are available in print by request at The Hague.

Structure of the United Nations: International Court of Justice

Introduction to International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, is the judicial arm of the UN. It is located in The Hague, Netherlands. The court hears cases brought by nations against each other. It has 15 judges, elected by the Security Council and the General Assembly. A country is not required to participate in the court’s proceedings, but if it agrees to participate, it must abide by the court’s decisions.” (2)

Legal Materials

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial body of the United Nations. The ICJ Web site explains that, “The Court has a dual role: to settle in accordance with international law the legal disputes submitted to it by States, and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by duly authorized international organs and agencies.”

ICJ materials are available in the following resources.

• The ICJ website contains ICJ court rules, selected decisions, pleadings and orders (under “Docket”), publications, and information about the ICJ, including the Statute of the International Court of Justice
• The WorldLII posts a free searchable database of international case law including ICJ decisions and transcripts (1947-last quarter) from the ICJ web site.
• Westlaw has Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders (INT-ICJ) from 1947 through 2000, plus selected recent documents.
• Lexis has ICJ Advisory Opinions from 1947 (INTLAW;ICJAO), Judgments issued by the ICJ from 1948 (INTLAW;ICJCC) and documents filed with the ICJ from 2004, plus a few back to 1986 (INTLAW;ICJDOC).
• The United Nations Law Collection on HeinOnline includes ICJ Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders (1947-Current), as well as the ICJYearbook (1946-Current).

Additional materials can be retrieved by a document retrieval service (see “Document Retrieval Services”).

International Court of Justice in 2013 (Continuation)

United States views on international law [1] in relation to International Court of Justice: In closing, we want to express our appreciation for the hard work of President Tomka, the other judges who currently serve on the Court and all of the members of the ICJ staff who contribute on a daily basis to the continuing productive work of that institution.

The International Court of Justice

Name

The International Court of Justice is the standarized name of one of the International Courts and Tribunals (see the entries in this legal Encyclopedia about court rules and procedural law for more information on some aspects of the International Court of Justice in international law).

International Court of Justice

In relation to the international law practice and international court of justice in this world legal Encyclopedia, please see the following section:

International Organizations

Note: there is detailed information and resources under these topics during the year 2013, covered by this entry on international court of justice in this law Encyclopedia.

International Court of Justice

Embracing mainstream international law, this section on international court of justice explores the context, history and effect of the area of the law covered here.

International Court of Justice

This section provides an overview of international court of justice within the legal context of International Court of Justice in international economic law, with coverage of Adjudication and Enforcement (Principles).

Resources

See Also

• International Organization
• Foreign Relations
• Organization
• United Nations
• United Nations System

Resources

Further Reading

• Robert Kolb, “International Court of Justice,” Elgar Encyclopedia of International Economic Law, Cheltenham Glos (United Kingdom), Northampton, MA (United States)

Resources

Further Reading

• The entry “international court of justice” in the Parry and Grant Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law (currently, the Encyclopaedic Dictionary of International Law, 2009), Oxford University Press

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Notes

1. International Court of Justice in the Digest of United States Practice in International Law

Resources

Notes and References

1. Information about International Court of Justice in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia
2. Information about International Court of Justice in the Encarta Online Encyclopedia

See Also

International Law
International Criminal Court (ICC)
United Nations

Further Reading

• A concise encyclopedia of the United Nations (including International Court of Justice , H Volger, KA Annan -2010)
• The Oxford Handbook on the United Nations (TG Weiss – 2007)
• International Law: A Dictionary (including International Court of Justice , Boczek, Boleslaw Adam -2005)
• Bodie, Thomas J. Politics and the Emergence of an Activist International Court of Justice. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1995.
• Commentaries on World Court Decisions (1987-1996). Peter H.F. Bekker, ed. The Hague; Boston: Nijhoff, 1998.
• A Comprehensive Handbook of the United Nations. Min-Chuan Ku, ed. New York: Monarch, 1978. This compilation of U.N. documents includes the Rules of the I.C.J. which were first adopted in 1946 and revised in 1978.
• Eyffinger, Arthur. The International Court of Justice, 1946-1996. Boston: Kluwer Law International, 1996.
• Fitzmaurice, Gerald. The Law and Procedure of the International Court of Justice. 2 vols. Cambridge: Grotius, 1986. A book of scientific value although originally written in the early sixties. Covers general principles, treaty interpretation, international organizations and tribunals, substantive law, competence, and jurisdiction. Has a full study of the ideas of Hersch Lauterpacht, a highly respected former judge of the Court.
• The Future of the International Court of Justice. Leo Gross, ed. 2 vols. Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Oceana, 1976.
• Many international law specialists contributed to this book. Contains chapters on the role of the I.C.J., its place in the U.N. system , national policies and international jurisdiction, and procedural and substantive law issues.
• Gill, Terry D. Litigation Strategy at the International Court: A Case Study of the Nicaragua v. United States Dispute. Boston: Nijhoff, 1989.
• ICJ/UNITAR Colloquium on Increasing the Effectiveness of the Court (1996: Peace Palace) Increasing the Effectiveness of the International Court of Justice: Proceedings of the ICJ/UNITAR Colloquium to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Court. Connie Peck & Roy S. Lee, eds. The Hague; Boston: Nijhoff, 1997.
• International Court of Justice 1946 – 1996. New York: United Nations Department of Publications, 1998. A guide to the history, composition, jurisdiction, procedure and decisions of the Court.
• The International Court of Justice at a Crossroads. Lori Fisler Damrosch, ed. Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Transnational, 1987. Sponsored by the American Society of International Law under a Ford grant.
• The International Court of Justice: Its Future Role After Fifty Years. A.S. Muller, D. Rai, J.M. Thur?szky, eds. The Hague; Boston: Nijhoff, 1997- .
• The International Court of Justice: Process, Practice and Procedure. Bowett and others. London: B.I.I.C.L., 1997.
• McWhinney, Edward. The International Court of Justice and the Western Tradition of International Law. Dordrecht, The Netherlands; Boston: Nijhoff, 1987.
• McWhinney, Edward. Judge Manfred Lachs and Judicial Law-Making; Opinions on the International Court of Justice, 1967-1993. The Hague; Boston: Nijhoff, 1995.
• McWhinney, Edward. Judicial Settlement of International Disputes: Jurisdiction, Justiciability and Judicial Law-making of the Contemporary International Court. Boston: Nijhoff, 1991.
• Oda, Shigeru. Judge Shigeru Oda and the Progressive Development of International Law: Opinions (Declarations, Separate Opinions, Dissents) on the International Court of Justice, 1976-1992). Edward McWhinney, ed. Dordrecht; Boston: Nijhoff, 1993.
• Pomerance, Michla. The United States and the World Court as a “Supreme Court of the Nations”: Dreams, Illusions, and Disillusion. Boston: Nijhoff, 1996.
• Rosenne, Shabtai. The Law and Practice of the International Court of Justice, 1920-1996. 3d ed. Boston: Nijhoff, 1997. New revised edition of the most complete book on the organizational and procedural issues of the Court. Contains primary sources, cases, and bibliography.
• Rosenne, Shabtai. Procedure in the International Court: A Commentary on the 1978 Rules of the International Court of Justice. Boston: Nijhoff, 1983.
• Rosenne, Shabtai. “Reflections on International Arbitration and Litigation in the International Court of Justice,” 9 Forum Internationale. Deventer, The Netherlands: Kluwer Law and Taxation, 1987.
• Rosenne, Shabtai. The World Court: What It is and How It Works. 5th rev. ed. Dordrecht, The Netherlands; Boston: Nijhoff; Norwell, Mass.: Kluwer Academic, 1995. The first part provides a historical overview of the Court, the relationship between the Court and the U.N., and a commentary on the rules and practices of the Court. The second part deals with jurisdiction, how a case is tried, using one case as an example, and the work of the court, including a review of all cases tried. A final chapter assesses the work of the Court. Appendices reproduce excerpts from the Charter of the United Nations, the Statute and Rules of Court, the composition of the Court from 1922 to 1989, a list of parties to the Statute, and judicial statistics.
• Shahabuddeen, Mohamed. Precedent in the World Court. Cambridge; N.Y.: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
• Singh, Nagendra. The Role and Record of the International Court of Justice. Norwell, Mass.: Nijhoff, 1989. Lectures given by a former judge of the I.C.J. who died in 1988, shortly after finishing the text.
• Szafarz, Renata. The Compulsory Jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. Boston: Nijhoff, 1993.
• The United States and the Compulsory Jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. Anthony Clark Arend, ed. Lanham, Md: University Press of America, 1986. Covers proposals and a discussion on this matter. Has primary sources.

Hierarchical Display of International Court of Justice

International Organisations > United Nations > UNO
Law > Organisation of the legal system > Legal system > Courts and tribunals > International court

International Court of Justice

Concept of International Court of Justice

See the dictionary definition of International Court of Justice.

Characteristics of International Court of Justice

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Translation of International Court of Justice

• Spanish: Corte Internacional de Justicia
• French: Cour internationale de justice
• German: Internationaler Gerichtshof
• Italian: Corte internazionale di giustizia
• Portuguese: Tribunal Internacional de Justiça
• Polish: Międzynarodowy Trybunał Sprawiedliwości

Thesaurus of International Court of Justice

International Organisations > United Nations > UNO > International Court of Justice
Law > Organisation of the legal system > Legal system > Courts and tribunals > International court > International Court of Justice

See also

• International court

• ICJ