What is the International Court of Justice? The Role and Activities of the ICJ

[Music] when states disagree on where their border is when states contest islands or a maritime zone when one state considers that another has violated a treaty or other rule of international law and when the UN or one of its agencies needs an opinion on a legal issue they can turn to the International Court of Justice [Music] the International Court of Justice or ICJ has its seat in the Netherlands at the peace palace in the hague like the General Assembly and the Security Council the court is what's known as a principle organ of the United Nations

and is the only one not to have its seat in New York the ICJ is the principle judicial organ of the UN and the world's highest international court the court has existed since 1946 it's two official languages are English and French its founding document the statute is an integral part of the charter of the United Nations forgives us for all UN member states therefore automatically recognize the existence of the court and can call on its services the ICJ is the successor of another court created in 1922 by the League of Nations the permanent Court of

international justice between 1922 and 1940 the permanent court handled around 60 cases it was dissolved after the Second World War the ICJ succeeded the permanent Court on the 18th of April 1946 inheriting not only its statute but also its jurisprudence and traditions like its predecessor the International Court of Justice has two roles the first is to decide disputes between states these are known as contentious cases the code second role is to respond to legal questions submitted to it by the General Assembly the Security Council and other UN organs or agencies these cases are known as

advisory proceedings since the court was established it's dealt with a large number of cases the ICJ is not a criminal court it does not try individuals only disputes between states can be submitted to it the court consists of 15 judges they're elected for nine years by the General Assembly and the Security Council five posts are renewed every three years judges may be re-elected mr. Mohammed Benina mr. James James Richard Crawford miss Joni Donohue mr. Kirill Kevorkian and mr. Patrick Lipton Robinson have been elected to the International Court of Justice for a term of office of

nine years beginning on 6 February to it the members of the court must all be from a different country they do not represent their countries they are independent judges [Music] I solemnly declare that I will perform my duties and exercise my powers as George honorably faithfully impartially and conscientiously the composition of the court reflects the following geographical balance three seats on the bench are occupied by African judges two seats are occupied by judges from Latin America and the Caribbean three are occupied by Asian judges five by judges from Western Europe and other western states and

two by judges from Eastern Europe although no country is entitled to a seat in practice the court has always included one judge from each of the five permanent members of the Security Council if the court does not have a judge of the nationality of the state's parties to a particular case those states can each choose what's known as a judge at hoc these judges can be of any nationality and have exactly the same rights and duties as elected judges every three years the court elects its president and vice president the president chairs all sittings of

the court he or she directs its work and supervises its administration each year the president presents a report on the activities of the ICJ to the General Assembly in New York a manifesto for a cool he do suit you can report the court is administratively independent it's the only principal organ of the United Nations that is not assisted by the UN Secretariat the judges are assisted by a registrar elected by the court for a renewable term of seven years the Registrar is the head of the court Secretariat its registry whose staff members are recruited from

all over the world the registrar performs judicial diplomatic and administrative functions the courts first role is to judge legal disputes between states these contentious cases represent 80% of its work in the past contentious cases have often related to border disputes maritime delimitation and diplomatic protection but they also increasingly concern issues such as humanitarian law and Bera mental law the use of armed force and the responsibility of states the court's jurisdiction is general it may consider any issue of international law all UN member states are entitled to bring contentious proceedings before the court other non-member States

can also access the court subject to certain conditions the court's jurisdiction thus extends throughout the world since 1946 a large number of states have appeared before the ICJ in contentious proceedings states are sovereign they're free to choose how to resolve their disputes the court can therefore only hear a case if the states involved have freely consented to having the case referred to it in most instances states appear before the court on the basis of an international treaty [Music] once the court has been seized the proceedings take place in two phases first the states submit their

arguments evidence and submissions in writing then their representatives and lawyers deliver oral arguments before the court during hearings Costa Rica request the court to dismiss all Nicaragua's claims in this proceeding Nicaragua requests from the court to a dismiss and rejected the requests and submissions of the Republic of Costa Rica the court then withdraws to begin its deliberation its deliberations are confidential all questions are decided by a majority of the judges present on average the courts deliberations lasts between four and six months each judgment is delivered in the courts two official languages and reproduced in several

sealed copies one of which is sent to each of the state's concerned judgments are read out of the public sitting they conclude with an operative part in which the court gives its decision in respect of each of the points at issue for these reasons the court won by 14 votes - to reject the preliminary objection raised by the motive Lagoon berkutov were called to do rachelle exception criminals all judgments of the court are final and without appeal it is to be noted that by coming before the court of their own volition states at the same

time assume a commitment to comply with its decisions all of which are binding on the parties virtually all the judgments of the court have been implemented if a state refuses to abide by a decision of the court the opposing state may have recourse to the Security Council which may and the article 94 of the charter of the United Nations make recommendations or decide upon measures to be taken to give effect to the judgment given the great legal moral and diplomatic authority with which decisions of the court are invested it is however extremely rare for this

to happen the code second role is to respond to any legal questions put to it by certain UN organs and agencies this procedure culminates in advisory opinions since 1946 the court has rendered a number of opinions on questions which have sometimes received wide media coverage the majority of these opinions have been requested by the General Assembly the advisory opinion issued by the court in 2004 on the legal consequences of the construction of a wall in the occupied Palestinian territory was one of the most high-profile in its history states from across the globe were invited to

participate in the proceedings which lasted just under seven months should consider what further action is required to bring to an unlock judgments advisory opinions given by the court are not binding per se it is for the United Nations organs or specialized agencies having requested an opinion to follow up on them as they see fit whatever the case thanks to the courts legal and moral authority its opinions carry great weight moreover the consideration given to the courts advisory opinions by states and international organizations in their legal practice fosters the development of international law [Music] continuing the

work started by the permanent Court of international justice in 1922 the ICJ's decisions have significance which goes beyond just the states and organizations directly involved in the cases on very many occasions and on all continents the court has helped to defuse crises to normalize relations between states and to restart deadlock negotiations either through the settlement of disputes by judicial means or by stating the law in respect of a particular question [Music] as the principle judicial organ of the United Nations the court is an important cog in the International mechanism for promoting and keeping peace to

that end the court very regularly hosts visits by heads of state and dignitaries the court performs its functions with great efficiency it can make an urgent order in a matter of days or weeks and give an advisory opinion within a few months it settles the large majority of the highly complex contentious cases submitted to it in under five years the courts budget accounts for less than 1% of the regular budget of the United Nations the court is a judicial institution unique in the world through its judgments opinions and orders it lends its support to the

United Nations in achieving its primary purposes which are to maintain and strengthen international peace and security of course the court cannot by itself prevent States from resorting to force but recognized by all members of the United Nations it now more than ever serve them as an invaluable instrument promoting peace that is at their disposal you [Music] [Music]