Part I Global Courts, 1 The International Court of

Justice, Introduction
Ruth Mackenzie, Cesare P.R. Romano, Yuval Shany, Philippe Sands

From: The Manual on International Courts and Tribunals (2nd Edition)

Ruth Mackenzie, Cesare PR Romano, Yuval Shany, Philippe Sands

Content type: Book content

Product: Oxford Scholarly Authorities on International Law [OSAIL]
Series: International Courts and Tribunals
Published in print: 18 March 2010
ISBN: 9780199545278

Introduction
Name and seat of the body
1.1 The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is a permanent international court, which is
open for use by virtually all states. It has its seat in The Hague, at the following address:

The Peace Palace

Carnegieplein 2
2517 KJ The Hague
The Netherlands
Tel: 31 70 302 23 23
Fax: 31 70 364 99 28
Website: <http://www.icj-cij.org>

General overview
1.2 The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN), and its Statute forms
an integral part of the UN Charter. It began its operation on 18 April 1946. The ICJ replaced
the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), which functioned from 1922 until its
dissolution after the Second World War. Although being a new institution, the powers and
procedures of the ICJ were closely modelled on those of the PCIJ.
(p. 5) The court has two heads of jurisdiction. It may receive any legal dispute referred to it
by states for settlement in accordance with international law; and it may render advisory
opinions on legal questions presented to it by the General Assembly, Security Council, and
other duly authorized UN organs and special agencies. All 192 members of the UN are
party to the Statute of the ICJ and may bring cases before the Court. Provided they comply

From: Oxford Public International Law (http://opil.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2023. All Rights Reserved.
Subscriber: De La Salle University; date: 09 March 2024
 with specified conditions, states that are not members may join the Statute of the Court at
any time, or subject to a distinct set of conditions being met, they may participate in cases
before the Court on an ad hoc basis, without joining the Statute at all.
Since 1946 the Court has decided, or otherwise disposed of, 103 contentious cases and 24
Advisory Opinions. As of January 2009, 13 contentious cases and one request for an
advisory opinion were pending before the ICJ.

From: Oxford Public International Law (http://opil.ouplaw.com). (c) Oxford University Press, 2023. All Rights Reserved.
Subscriber: De La Salle University; date: 09 March 2024