10 ICJ

Question 1

What is ICJ

Answer 1

1. Principal judicial organ of the UN
2. Standing tribunal built to settle legal disputes between states
3. To give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized UN organs and specialized agencies.
4. Replaced the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) after WWII.

Question 2

ICJ as organisation

Answer 2

1. 15 judges elected by the UN Security Council and General Assembly for nine year terms.
2. Staggered, (elected every three years, but sits there for 9)

Question 3

ICC Jurisdiction

Answer 3

1. Special agreements
2. Treaty provisions
3. Unilateral declarations
4. Forum prorogatum
5. Optional Clause

Question 4

Treaty provisions and ICJ’s jurisdiction

Answer 4

States may agree by explicity writin in the treaty to accept the jurisdiction of the Court for defined categories of future disputes.

Genocide convention article 9: Explicity states that they recognize ICJ’s jurisdiction if any state-member puts forward the dispute.

Question 5

Special agreements

Answer 5

Where two states jointly submit a particular dispute.

Question 6

Unilateral declaration

Answer 6

ICJ art. 36(2)
“States can make a unilateral declaration recognizing the ICJ’s compulsory jurisdiction”

US’s intervention in contra-activities against Nicoraguga’s goverment (CIA support). Argues they weren’t under ICJ jurisdiction, as their 1946 unilateral declaration recgonize ICJ jurisdiction.
Reservation excluding disputes related to multilateral treaties unless all treaty parties were also involved in the case

Question 7

Forum Prorogatum

Answer 7

Filing application to ICJ, both state paryies must consent.

1. Corfu Channel Case (United Kingdom v. Albania, 1947)
   Background: The UK filed an application against Albania for damages caused by Albanian-laid mines in the Corfu Channel.
   No Pre-Existing Jurisdiction: There was no treaty or unilateral declaration binding Albania to ICJ jurisdiction.
   Albania participated in preliminary proceedings, which the ICJ interpreted as an implicit acceptance of its jurisdiction.
   Significance: The ICJ confirmed its jurisdiction based on Albania’s post-application consent.

Question 8

Optional Clause

Answer 8

Article 36(2) of the ICJ Statute allows states to declare they accept the Court’s compulsory jurisdiction for disputes with other states that have made similar declarations, though mutual consent is required for jurisdiction to arise.

Question 9

ICJ judgements

Answer 9

Judgments are final without appeal, binding upon the parties to the case.

Question 10

ICJ advisory opinion

Answer 10

Not binding. The purpose is to provide legal guidance on questions of international law, requested by authorized bodies.

Question 11

ICJ and power to enforce

Answer 11

The Court does not have the power to enforce its judgments. The UN Charter (Article 94(1)) places the onus for enforcement on the Security Council.

Question 12

Provisional measures

Answer 12

Temporary actions ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to protect the rights of parties involved in a case while the Court is considering the merits of the dispute.

Question 13

ICJ art. 62

Answer 13

Third party state can request ICJ to intervene in an ongoing case due to legal interest.

Question 14

Joinder of cases

Answer 14

Is the procedure through which two cases involving some of the same parties/similar issues brought before the Court can be joined.

Question 15

Authoritan states

Answer 15

1. countries that lack human rights such as freedom of religion,
2. Countries where the government and opposition do not alternately hold power following free elections.

Question 16

Guyana vs. Venezuela

Answer 16

Issue: Concers territory Venezuela claims. Guyana has had this since 1899.
Provisional measure: ICJ made a provisional measure, commanding Venezuela not to make a referendum.

Not known if they consent ICJ. But argue theoretically.

Question 17

Myanmar vs. Gambia : ICJ

Answer 17

Both ratified ICJ
Article 9 states that disputes should be resolved in ICJ.

Dispute is based on “interpretation, application, or fulfillment”.

ICJ provisional measures:
1. Myanmar must take steps to preserve any evidence of wrongdoing under the Genocide Convention.
2. Myanmar must take steps to prevent further genocidal acts by its own forces or by groups or forces acting within its territory over which it has any “control, direction, or influence.”

ICJ requires that the order for provisional measures be transmitted to the U.N. Security Council for review.

Question 18

Netherlands/Canada v Syria case

Answer 18

June 2023.

NE + CA filed a case against Syria on CAT.
All three are part of CAT.
Requests provinsional measures.

Not stated in CAT that ICJ can take disputes.

Filed, as art. 30 of Rome Statute outlined resolving the dispute thorugh negotiation and if not working by arbitration. None of this worked.

Question 19

Explaining the International Court of Justice’s Ruling on Israel and Gaza

Answer 19

South Africa filed a case against Israel to ICJ.

Provisional measure: The Court required that Israel ensure that it does not commit acts that might fall within the scope of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.