The International Court of Justice of the United Nations

The International Court of Justice of the United Nations

1		PRESENTATION

The International Court of Justice of the United Nations, principal legal body of the United Nations, created in 1945, according to the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, to succeed the permanent Court of international justice. The Court functions in accordance with a statute which clean, is annexed to him with the Charter of the United Nations. Its principal task consists in ruling on the disagreements of a legal nature between nations; it cannot, so to be seized by a business by the action of a private individual. All the Member States of United Nations (UNO) left to the statute the International Court of Justice, just like the three States not members of UNO who are Switzerland, Liechtenstein and San Marino.A nation which did not leave to the statute the Court can resort to the latter if it accepts, on a purely general or particular basis, to subject itself to the obligations of a Member State of the United Nations.

2

ITS ROLE

In accordance with article 94 of the Charter of the United Nations, there are two procedures making it possible to carry a disagreement before the Court. The first consists in resorting to the protocol of tender at the Court of the disagreement by the whole of the parts. The second relates to the unilateral application of the obligations with only one of the parts implied in a litigation. For example, a country can claim that its adversary was constrained by the terms of a treaty particular to yield, in the case of a litigation, with the authority of the Court. A clause stipulated in the statute of the Court can also allow  —without obliging for as much — the States left with the statute to recognize by advance like obligatory the jurisdiction of the Court in certain international disagreements. If two parts in conflict expressed their assent on the matter and that the litigation remains within the framework of the aforesaid agreement, one or the other of the parts can carry the disagreement before the Court.

In October 1985, president Ronald Reagan put officially fine at the followed policy of long date consisting in yielding automatically with the decisions of the International Court of Justice, thus bringing back to 43 the number of nations recognizing like obligatory the jurisdiction of the Court. The American initiative caused to weaken the Court, already handicapped by the refusal of the principal great powers, among which Soviet Union, China, France, West Germany and Italy to yield with its authority. The Court gives its judgements according to general principles' of the international law recognized by the nations civilized like according to the common laws and international payments governing the treaties and conventions accepted by the parts in litigation. The Court also calls upon the former court orders and the conclusions of highly qualified publicists who contributed to establish jurisprudence. The judgement of the Court, which must give a report on the reasons of its decision, is final and irrevocable, without any possibility of recourse. The Security Council of the United Nations is entitled to take measures in order to make apply the decision of the Court if the parts in litigation refuse to carry out the stop. Actually, the International Court of Justice has only few means to make carry out its decisions. As an example, in 1980, when the Court ordered in Iran to release 53 American hostages, its injunction remained without effect.

In addition to the arbitration of the litigations between nations, the Court can give advisory opinions, on legal questions, with the General meeting, the Security Council, and other specialized agencies, authorized by the General meeting to request these opinions.Within this framework, one can quote the judgement of the Court in 1962, according to which the expenditure intended to maintain peace in the popular Republic of Congo and in the Middle East represented the "expenditure of the organization" to pay by the Member States, according to the distribution established by the General meeting.

3

JUDGES

The Court made up of 15 judges, each one is elected in the majority absolute by the Security Council and the General meeting, each one of these two bodies voter without consulting the other. The judges are elected for nine years and can be re-elected. There cannot be two nationals of the same country. A judge can be revoked only by unanimous vote other judges, who do not represent their country but are elected according to their knowledge of the international law. The composition of the Court is supposed to reflect the principal forms of civilization and the great world legal systems. If there is not, at the time of a disagreement, of judge having same nationality as a part in litigation, this country can choose a judge to sit at the lawsuit. Last nine judges constitute a quorum and any question raised before the Court is solved in the majority of the judges present. The Court elects its own civils servant and names its clerks like its other representatives. The seat of the Court is located at the Hague, in the Netherlands.