World Court

The World Court is the common name for the International Court of Justice (ICJ). It is the main judicial organ of the United Nations (UN) and is headquartered at the Peace Palace in The Hague (the Netherlands). It began functioning in 1946.

Its predecessor was the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), established in 1920 by the League of Nations. The Court's earlier roots can be traced back through The Hague Peace Conference of 1899, the Alabama Claims arbitration in 1872, and the Jay Treaty of 1794 between Britain and the United States.

The Peace Palace, also known as Vredespalais, in The Hague, the Netherlands. It houses the principal judicial body of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, and the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

Source: Arjan de Jager/iStockphoto.

Fifteen judges serve on the World Court. They are elected for 9-yr. (year) terms by the UN General Assembly and the Security Council and are eligible for reelection. Candidates must receive an absolute majority of votes in both bodies. For continuity, one third of the Court is elected every 3 yrs. Once elected, the Court's judges then elect a president and vice president. The Court's official languages are English and French.

The judges must represent the world's main forms of civilization and legal systems. No more than one person of a single state (i.e., country) may serve concurrently as a judge. Presently, three judges are from Africa, two are from Latin American and the Caribbean, three are from Asia, five are from Western Europe and other states, and two are from Eastern Europe. Judges are not delegates of their respective countries but instead are obligated to act impartially and conscientiously. For Court cases concerning a country that does not have a judge on the Court, a country may request that an ad hoc judge from it or another country be added for such cases. Ad hoc judges also must agree to be impartial in their decision making.

The World Court has two main functions: (1) issuing advisory opinions and (2) settling contentious cases. The first centers on legal questions submitted to it by the UN's five organs and [Page 3131]16 specialized agencies. The second is an application of international law to settle legal disputes brought to it by countries’ governments. The Court only accepts contentious cases from countries that are members of the UN and parties to the Statute of the Court or countries that accept the Court's jurisdiction. Its judgment is delivered publically and is considered final, binding, and not subject to appeal. Advisory opinions are also delivered publically but are not considered binding.

Between 1946 and mid 2008, the Court delivered 25 advisory opinions, 97 judgments, and had 12 pending contentious cases. Judgments have concerned issues such as political boundary disputes, territorial sovereignty, noninterference in the internal affairs of states, rights of passage, diplomatic relations, and human rights.