+

The International Court

of Justice
Cases between
states
Render advisory
opinions
Historical precursor
Voting separately

No more national of any state

For nine years

Permanent Members
+
In the last decade the number of cases brought to the Court
has increased markedly
The Court declared in the U.N. General Assembly in 2008 that
they just had completed the most productive year in its history
+
International lawyers and students have noted and often
deplored the fact that states have not chosen to submit most of
their legal disputes to the Court.
Litigation is uncertain, time consuming, troublesome
Political officials do not want to lose a case that they could
resolve by negotiation or political pressures
Diplomats= Diplomacy Political leaders=persuasion, flexibility
Prefer making their rules fit the circumstances rather than
submit to existing rules
+
States do not want to risk losing a case when stakes are high
or be troubled with litigation.
An international tribunal may not inspire confidence
Law is too malleable or fragmentary to sustain true judicial
decisions
+
Notes

1. Ad hoc judges: Yugoslavia case
2. Chambers: Gulf of Maine Area
Case
+
Contentious Cases
Only states may be parties to a
contentious case (legal disputes
between States submitted to the
court by them), not international
organizations or private persons.

The case must be a legal dispute.

+
1.General Principles: Consent and
Reciprocity
Consent is typically established by
reference to terms of a treaty or special
agreement or declaration, a state may
indicate its consent to be sued by
pleading to the merits of a claim without
raising any objections to jurisdiction.

+
Reciprocity is usually found in the mutual
obligations of the parties under the treaty
invoked by the applicante.




Reciprocity cannot be invoked in order to
excuse departure from the terms of a
State's own declaration.
JURISDICTION BY SPECIAL AGREEMENT
Parties:
Define terms
Questions Court
The court is limited


Cases submitted on the basis
of a negotiated agreement with
contemporaneous consent
What are the two actions that parties have to decide in a jurisdiction by special
agreement?

Mention 2 comments of why states have not chosen to submit most of their
legal disputes to the Court

What are the two principles of a contentious case?

How long is the period of the judges?

Which is the historical precursor of the ICJ?