The International Court of Justice, whose seat is at The Hague, Netherlands, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Its Statute is an integral part of the United Nations Charter.
The Court is open to the parties to its Statute, which automatically includes all Members of the United Nations. A state which is not a United Nations Member may become a party to the Statute, on conditions determined in each case by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. Switzerland and Nauru are the only non-member states which are parties to the Statute. The Court is not open to private individuals.
All countries which are parties to the Statute of the Court can be parties to cases before it. Other states can refer cases to it under conditions laid down by the Security Council. In addition, the Security Council may recommend that a legal dispute be referred to the Court.
Both the General Assembly and the Security Council can ask the Court for an advisory opinion on any legal question. Other organs of the United Nations and the specialized agencies-when authorized by the General Assembly-can ask for advisory opinions on legal questions within the scope of their activities.
The jurisdiction of the Court covers all questions which Member States refer to it and all matters provided for in the United Nations Charter or in treaties or conventions in force. States may bind themselves in advance to accept the jurisdiction of the Court, either by signing a treaty or convention which provides for referral to the Court or by making a declaration to that effect. Such declarations accepting compulsory jurisdiction may exclude certain classes of cases.
In accordance with Article 38 of its Statute, the Court, in deciding disputes submitted to it, applies:
-- International conventions establishing rules recognized by the contesting States;
-- International custom as evidence of a general practice accepted as law;
-- The general principles of law recognized by nations; and
-- Judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as a subsidiary means for determining the rules of law.
If the parties agree, the Court may also decide a case on the basis of equity.
The Court consists of 15 Judges elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council, voting independently. They are chosen on the basis of their qualifications, not on the basis of nationality, and care is taken to ensure that the principal legal systems of the world are represented in the Court. No two Judges can be nationals of the same State. The Judges serve for a nine-year term and may be re-elected. They cannot engage in any other occupation during their term of office.
The Court normally sits in plenary session, but it may form smaller units called chambers if the parties so request. Judgments given by chambers are considered as rendered by the full Court. The Court has further constituted a Chamber for Environmental Matters and forms annually a Chamber of Summary Procedures.
Source: Basic Facts About the United Nations. Published by United Nations Department of Public Information. Copyright 1995 United Nations.
