| Abstract [eng] |
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, is a standing tribunal to which States may bring their disputes, and which is empowered to give advirsory opinions to United Nations organs and specialized agencies. No dispute can be the subject of a decision of the Court unless the States parties to it have consented to the Court‘s jurisdiction over that specific dispute, or over a class of disputes of which that dispute is one. The consent may be given either directly in respect of a specific dispute, or in advance in respect of a defined class or category of diputes; the Statute of the Court also provides for acceptance of a general compulsory jurisdiction by simple declaration, wich may however be subject to reservations. All members of the United Nations are automatically parties to the ICJ Statute and enjoy access to the Court, but its compulsory jurisdiction is accepted by only but a fairly small number of States, and for most part with reservations that limit effective jurisdiction to certain classes of dispute. The Court is further empowered to give advirsory opinions on legal questions at the request of the Security Council or the General Assembly; such opinions may also be requested by other organs and agencies autherized by the General Assembly. Advirsory opinions are not binding but are authoritative statements of the principles of international law applying to the speciffic situations on which the advice of the Court is sought. The International Court of Justice has made reasonable contribution to the maintenance of civilized methods of settling disputes, but because of limited willingness of all affected parties to place a dispute before it, it has not been at all prominent in the business of keeping the peace. |
