The International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Established:- In 1945 (Started in 1946)
Seat of Court:- The Hague (Netherlands)
Official Language:- English & French
No. of Judges:- 15
Judges Term:- 9 Years
Type:- Principal Judicial Organ of the United Nations (UN) under Art 7 of UN Charter.
Website:- www.icj-cij.org
The Court’s Role is to settle, In accordance with International Law, Legal Disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on Legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized Agencies.
JURISDICTION OF ICJ (International Court of Justice)
1) Contentious Jurisdiction:- These related to Disputes among States only.
Voluntary clause:- when two parties agree to submit their dispute to the ICJ under Art. 36 (1) of ICJ Statute.
Optional clause:- If any Dispute arises by the treaty or agreement, parties may submit the issue in ICJ under Art. 36 (2) of ICJ Statute.
Transferred clause:- PCIJ Cases transferred to the ICJ under 36 (5) of ICJ Statute.
2) Advisory Jurisdiction:- To get the Opinions on any Legal Questions, this Function of the Court open only to specified United Nations bodies and Agencies except UN Secretariat under the Art. 65 of ICJ Statue & Art. 96 of the UN Charter.
KEY POINTS
#ICJ sometimes called “World Court”
#ICJ is Defined under Chapter 14 (Article 92-96) of the UN Charter.
#José Gustavo Guerrero (from El Salvador) was the 1st President of ICJ.
#ICJ is the successor of the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) which was established by the League of Nation in 1920.
#ICJ have its own Statute with 5 Chapters (70 Articles).
#ICJ Judges is Appointed By GA and Security Council separately, 5 out of 15 Judges appointed by UNSC Permanent Members (P5).
#Eligibility for ICJ Judge is defined under Art. 2 of ICJ Statute.
#ICJ decisions shall be Binding only if both parties or states accept the decision on the Contentious case under Art. 59 of ICJ Statute.
#It is the responsibility of UNSC to enforce the Judgement of ICJ under Art. 94 of UN Charter.
#No Appeal Option available after ICJ Decision on that matter.
#1st Case submitted in International Court of Justice in 1947.
#Elections are held every 3 years for 1/3 of the seats.
#If any third party or state affected by the judgment of ICJ, it may submit a request to the court to be permitted to intervene under Art 62 of ICJ Statute.