The internattonal Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial body of the United Nations and has its seat at the Hague, the Netherlands. All members of the United Nations are parties to the statute of the World Court. A country, which is not a member of the United Nations, may also become a party to the statute on certain conditions.

The Court consists of 15 judges, elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council. No two judges may be from the same state. The judges are elected for 9 years.

The International Court of Justice is permanently in session.

The function of the Court is to pass judgments upon disputes between sovereign states.

A state can be sued before the World Court if it agrees to such an action. Many treaties and other international agreements between countries can give the court compulsory jurisdiction in case of disputes.

The International Court of Justice decides disputes in accordance with international law which is found in:

- international conventions;

- rules of international customary law;

- general principles of law recognized by civilized nations;

- judicial decisions;

The official languages of the court are French and English. Either of them may be used by the parties. Written and oral arguments presented in one language are translated into the other. The judgments are in both French and English.

The deliberations of the court are held in private, but the judgments are read in open court. The decisions are made by a majority vote. The president doesn't usually vote, expect cases of a tie vole. The judgment is final and without appeal.

The court itself has no powers of enforcement, but according to article 94 of the Charter of the United Nations ‘if any party to a case fails to perform the obligations under a judgment of the Court, the other party may have recourse to the Security Council, which can make recommendations or decide upon measures to give effect to the judgment’.

The Court is authorized by article 65 of the statute to give advisory opinions on any legal questions at the request of the general Assembly, the Security Council, or other bodies of the United Nations.

The court has also power to interpret international law. Its decisions on interpretation matters are binding for all bodies and members of the United Nations.

The International Court of Justice is not only the principal judicial body of the UN, but also one of the main international courts. Any state, even not a member of the UN, may apply to the Court for judgment.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-24