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International Court of Justice (ICJ) – Structure, Jurisdiction, Members

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International Court of Justice (ICJ)

  • The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.
  • Established in 1945 by the UN Charter, began work in 1946.
  • Headquarter: Also known as the World Court, seated at The Hague, Netherlands.
  • Composition: International Court of Justice  is composed of 15 judges.
  • Two main functions:
    • Settle legal disputes between States.
    • Provide advisory opinions to UN organs and agencies.
  • Official languages: English and French.

Members of the ICJ

Composition

  • ICJ is composed of 15 judges, elected for 9-year terms by the UN General Assembly and the Security Council.
  • Judges are elected independently, not as representatives of their governments.
  • No two judges may be from the same country.
  • The Court as a whole must represent the main forms of civilization and the principal legal systems of the world.
    • This internal arithmetic is maintained at every election to the ICJ. Of the 15 judges, it is mandated that three should be from Africa, two from Latin America and the Caribbean, three from Asia, five from Western Europe and other states, and two from Eastern Europe.

Election Process

  • Elections held at the UN General Assembly in New York, usually in autumn sessions.
  • Judges elected by an absolute majority in both the GA and the Security Council.
  • One-third of the Court is renewed every three years (5 judges each cycle).
  • In case of a vacancy, a special election is held.
  • Judges elect from among themselves a President and Vice-President (3-year terms).

Independence

  • Members do not act as delegates of their States.
    • Once elected, a Member of the Court is a delegate neither of the government of his own country nor of that of any other State.
  • Must take an oath of impartiality and independence before assuming office.
  • Cannot be removed unless all other judges unanimously agree 

Nomination

  • All states party to the Statute of the Court are eligible to propose candidates. The selection process is meant to be apolitical, and is made not by the government of the state concerned, but by the members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration designated by that state to represent its interests in the Court. 
  • Each group can propose a maximum of four candidates, not more than two of whom may be citizens of the said country. The other two nominees may be from any country, even those that are not party to the Statute.
  • Procedure: Candidate names are communicated to the UN Secretary-General within a fixed time limit.

Privileges and Conditions

  • When engaged in the business of the Court, the Members of the Court enjoy privileges and immunities comparable with those of the head of a diplomatic mission

Eligibility

  • Candidates must be persons of high moral character with:
    • Qualifications for the highest judicial offices in their own country, or
    • Competence in international law.

Who may submit cases?

  • Only States are eligible to appear before the Court in contentious cases. At present, this essentially means the 193 Member States of the United Nations.
  • No jurisdiction over:
    • Individuals, NGOs, corporations, or private entities.
  • A State may take up the case of one of its nationals and invoke against another State the wrongs which its national claims to have suffered at the hands of the latter; the dispute then becomes one between States.

Difference from International Criminal Court (ICC)

  • ICJ: settles disputes between States, not individuals.
    • The International Court of Justice has no jurisdiction to try individuals accused of war crimes or crimes against humanity. As it is not a criminal court, it does not have a prosecutor able to initiate proceedings.

Jurisdiction

  • The Court can only hear a dispute when requested to do so by one or more States. It cannot deal with a dispute on its own initiative. Neither is it permitted, under its Statute, to investigate and rule on acts of sovereign States as it chooses.
  • The States involved in the dispute must also have access to the Court and have accepted its jurisdiction, in other words they must consent to the Court’s considering the dispute in question.
  • A State may manifest its consent in three ways:
    • Special agreement – States agree to submit a specific dispute.
    • Clause in a treaty – accepting ICJ jurisdiction for disputes under that treaty.
      • Over 300 treaties contain clauses (known as jurisdictional clauses) by which a State party undertakes to accept the jurisdiction of the Court should a dispute arise with another State party about the interpretation or application of the treaty;
    • Unilateral declaration – accepting ICJ’s jurisdiction as binding (optional clause system).
      •  The States parties to the Statute of the Court may opt to make a unilateral declaration recognizing the jurisdiction of the Court as binding with respect to any other State also accepting it as binding. This optional clause system, as it is called, has led to the creation of a group of States each of which has given the Court jurisdiction to settle any dispute that might arise between them in future. In principle, any State in this group is entitled to bring one or more other States in the group before the Court. Declarations may contain reservations limiting their duration or excluding certain categories of dispute. They are deposited by States with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Are ICJ Decisions Binding?

  • Judgments delivered by the Court (or by one of its Chambers) in disputes between States are binding upon the parties concerned.
    • Article 94 of the United Nations Charter provides that “each Member of the United Nations undertakes to comply with the decision of [the Court] in any case to which it is a party”.
    • Judgments are final and without appeal. If there is a dispute about the meaning or scope of a judgment, the only possibility is for one of the parties to make a request to the Court for an interpretation. In the event of the discovery of a fact hitherto unknown to the Court which might be a decisive factor, either party may apply for revision of the judgment.
  • Advisory opinions are non-binding
    • As regards advisory opinions, it is usually for the United Nations organs and specialized agencies requesting them to give effect to them or not, by whichever means they see fit.

FAQs 

Q1. What is the International Court of Justice (ICJ)?

The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations that settles legal disputes between states and gives advisory opinions to UN bodies.

Q2. Where is the ICJ headquartered?

The ICJ is seated in The Hague, Netherlands.

Q3. How many judges are there in the ICJ?

There are 15 judges elected for 9-year terms.

Q4. How are ICJ judges elected?

Judges are elected independently by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council

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