International Judicial Settlement

1)_The Origin of the International Court

The International Court of Justice is a permanent body created on the basis of an international treaty, whose task is to settle international disputes through adjudicative procedures. The composition, procedure and legal sources of decision of the International Court of Justice are determined, in contrast to arbitration, not by special agreements between the parties to the dispute in each individual case, but by the permanent Statute. The effectiveness of a court in international relations, where there is no supra-state power, and where decisions are adopted with the consent of the participants, is limited. This is revealed by the very fact that the first International Court was established as late as 1921, in accordance with the Covenant of the League of Nations. It consisted of 15 elected judges and was called the Permanent Court of International Justice. During its nearly twenty years of existence, the Court heard 37 disputes among States and gave 28 advisory opinions at the request of the Council of the League of Nations. None of the cases that were considered were of major international significance.

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Today the principal judicial organ of the United Nations is the International Court, of Justice, which operates on the basis of a Statute which is an integral part of the UN Charter. All members of the United Nations are ipso facto parties to the Statute. States that are not members of the United Nations may become parties to the Statute in accordance with the terms defined by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council (Art. 93 of the United Nations Charter).

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The Court consists of 15 judges elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council for a period of 9 years in a personal capacity, i.e. they are not representatives of States. The Court may include no more than one national from the same State. The entire composition of the Court must provide for the representation of the world's principal legal systems. A quorum consists of 9 judges and all decisions are taken by a majority vote of those present. The Court is permanently located in the Hague.

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The Court's jurisdiction includes: a) disputes whose parties are States alone; b) advisory opinions on legal questions at the request of international bodies and organizations having the corresponding right according to the UN Charter.

The International Court of Justice may examine and consider any case submitted to it by States as parties to a dispute. It does not possess compulsory jurisdiction, i.e. it cannot examine a case without the consent of the parties to a dispute. Such consent may be given beforehand in relation to a specific category of issues.

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The court procedure consists of two parts: written and oral. The written part concerns the transmission to the court by the parties concerned of memorials and counter-memorials presenting the positions of the States that are parties to the dispute; the oral part consists in hearings of representatives of the States that are parties to the dispute, of their lawyers, witnesses and experts.

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Court judgments are legally binding on the parties to the case being heard. They do not create a legal precedent for the resolution of other cases of a similar character (Art.59). The court's judgment is final and is not subject to appeal. Its non-fulfillment by one of the parties gives the other party the right to appeal to the Security Council. If the latter deems it necessary, it may make recommendations or decide to take measures to implement the judgment of the Court (Art. 49, UN Charter). In other words, the Security Council has the right to, but is not obliged, to take such measures.

 

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