The International Court of Justice's procedures and jurisdiction

Copyright ?2007

The International Court of Justice, created by the UN in 1946, was not the world's first court to be created. The Permanent Court of International Justice was created by the League of Nations back in 1922 and remained in existence until 1946 ("International Court of Justice"). The World Court follows specific procedures in settling international legal disputes. First, States from both sides of the dispute have to accept the Court's jurisdiction over their case. Secondly, since States have no permanent representatives attached to the Court, they have to communicate their issue to the Court's Registrar through either a Foreign Affairs Minister or through an ambassador to the Netherlands. States may bring a case to Court either bilaterally, in which one or both sides agree to bring attention to their dispute, or unilaterally, in which an applicant State lodges a complaint against a respondent State in Court. Thirdly, the proceedings continue first with a written phase, in which both parties have their facts and arguments detailed on paper, and then an oral phase, in which public hearings are held. Agents who, unlike domestic court solicitors, are actually heads of diplomatic missions attend the hearings. After the oral phase the court delivers its judgment, which is final and binding upon all present without further claims for appeal ("International Court of Justice"). This part of the procedure regarding both the written and oral phases, is similar to that followed by the US Supreme Court after it has granted petitions for certiorari ("Supreme Court of the United States", Oct 22, 2007) An advisory opinion is given by the World Court in regards to legal questions brought forth to it by the five organs of the United Nations as well as its 16 specialized agencies.