Context: South Africa urged ICJ to order Israel to suspend its military operations in Gaza.
About International Court of Justice (ICJ)
- It is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It was established by the United Nations Charter, signed in 1945.
- The ICJ functions according to the Statute of the International Court of Justice. Statute of ICJ is an annexed document of the UN Charter and forms an integral part of the UN Charter.
- It is situated in the Peace Palace Hague, Netherlands.
Membership of International Court of Justice:
- All members of the UN are also considered to be party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice.
- A state which is not a member of the UN may become a party to the statute of ICJ on conditions to be determined by in each case by the UN General Assembly upon recommendation of the UN Security Council.
- It has two primary functions: first, to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes between States submitted to it by them and, second, to give advisory opinions on legal matters referred to it by duly authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
Settlement of disputes by ICJ:
- Only States are eligible to appear before the Court in contentious cases. At present, this essentially means the 193 Member States of the United Nations.
- The Court has no jurisdiction to deal with applications from individuals, non-governmental organizations, corporations or any other private entity. It cannot provide them with legal advice or help them in their dealings with national authorities.
- However, a State may take up the case of one of its nationals and invoke against another State the wrongs which its national claims to have suffered at the hands of the latter; the dispute then becomes one between States.
Advisory Jurisdiction of ICJ:
- UNGA or UNSC can request the ICJ to give an advisory opinion on any legal question.
- Other organs and specialized agencies of the UN can also request the ICJ to provide advisory opinions on legal questions arising within the scope of their activities.
- Judges of International Court of Justice: It is composed of 15 judges who are elected for a term of nine years, by the United Nations General Assembly and the United Nations Security Council. No two judges can be nationals of the same country.
Limitations of ICJ:
- ICJ does not have power to initiate proceedings on its own. This power is present with the International Criminal Court.
- ICJ is not permitted to investigate and rule on acts of sovereign states as it chooses.
- States must consent to ICJ considering the dispute in question. States can give consent to ICJ’s jurisdiction by three ways:
- By a special arrangement: two or more States with a dispute on a specific issue may agree to submit it jointly to the Court and conclude an agreement for this purpose;
- By a clause in a treaty: over 300 treaties contain clauses (known as jurisdictional clauses) by which a State party undertakes to accept the jurisdiction of the Court should a dispute arise with another State party about the interpretation or application of the treaty;
- by a unilateral declaration: the States parties to the Statute of the Court may opt to make a unilateral declaration recognizing the jurisdiction of the Court as binding with respect to any other State also accepting it as binding. This optional clause system, as it is called, has led to the creation of a group of States each of which has given the Court jurisdiction to settle any dispute that might arise between them in future. They are deposited by States with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
- Judgments delivered by the Court are binding upon the parties concerned; are final and without appeal.
- Mechanism for compliance of judgment of ICJ: If any party to a case fails to the obligations incumbent upon it under a judgment rendered by the ICJ, the other party may have recourse to the UN Security Council, which can make recommendations or measures to be taken to give effect to the judgment.