The International Court
of Justice (French: Cour internationale de justice; commonly referred to as the World Court or ICJ) is the primary judicial branch of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Its main functions are to settle legal
disputes submitted to it by states and to provide advisory opinions on legal questions
submitted to it by duly authorized international branches, agencies, and the UN
General Assembly.
Established in 1945
by the UN Charter, the Court began work
in 1946 as the successor to the Permanent
Court of International Justice. The Statute
of the International Court of Justice, similar to that of its predecessor, is
the main constitutional document constituting and regulating the Court.
The Court's workload
covers a wide range of judicial activity. After the court ruled that the U.S.'s
covert war against Nicaragua was in violation of international law (Nicaragua
v. United States), the United States withdrew from compulsory jurisdiction in
1986. The United States accepts the court's jurisdiction only on a case-by-case
basis. Chapter XIV of the United
Nations Charter authorizes the UN Security Council to
enforce Court rulings. However, such enforcement is subject to the veto power
of the five permanent members of the Council, which the United States used in
the Nicaragua case.
Thank you Merja.
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