Contacting the Court
Any correspondence must be submitted in one of the Court's two working languages: English or French.
| International Court of Justice Peace Palace Carnegieplein 2 2517 KJ The Hague The Netherlands | Telephone: (+31) (0)70 302 23 23 Telefax: (+31) (0)70 364 99 28 |
1. What is the International Court of Justice?
The Court is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It was established by the United Nations Charter, signed in 1945 at San Francisco (United States), and began work in 1946 in the Peace Palace, The Hague (Netherlands).
The Court, which is composed of 15 judges, has a dual role: in accordance with international law, settling legal disputes between States submitted to it by them and giving advisory opinions on legal matters referred to it by duly authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
The official languages of the Court are English and French.
2. Who may submit cases to the Court?
Only States are eligible to appear before the Court in contentious cases. At present, this basically means the 192 United Nations Member States.
The Court has no jurisdiction to deal with applications from individuals, non-governmental organizations, corporations or any other private entity. It cannot provide them with legal counselling or help them in their dealings with the authorities of any State whatever.
However, a State may take up the case of one of its nationals and invoke against another State the wrongs which its national claims to have suffered at the hands of the latter; the dispute then becomes one between States.
3. What differentiates the International Court of Justice from the International Criminal Court and the ad hoc international criminal tribunals?
The International Court of Justice has no jurisdiction to try individuals accused of war crimes or crimes against humanity. As it is not a criminal court, it does not have a prosecutor able to initiate proceedings.
This task is the preserve of national courts, the ad hoc criminal tribunals established by the United Nations (such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR)) or in co-operation with it (such as the Special Court for Sierra Leone)), and also of the International Criminal Court, set up under the Rome Statute.
4. How does the International Court of Justice differ from other international courts?
The International Court of Justice differs from the European Court of Justice (the seat of which is in Luxembourg), whose role is to interpret European Community legislation uniformly and rule on its validity, as well as from the European Court of Human Rights (in Strasbourg, France) and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (in San José, Costa Rica), which deal with allegations of violations of the human rights conventions under which they were set up. As well as applications from States, those three courts can entertain applications from individuals, which is not possible for the International Court of Justice.
The jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice is general and thereby differs from that of specialist international tribunals, such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS).
Lastly, the Court is not a supreme court to which national courts can turn; it does not act as a court of last resort for individuals. Nor is it an appeal court for any international tribunal. It can, however, rule on the validity of arbitral awards.
5. Why are some disputes between States not considered by the Court?
The Court can only hear a dispute when requested to do so by one or more States. It cannot deal with a dispute of its own motion. It is not permitted, under its Statute, to investigate and rule on acts of sovereign States as it chooses.
The States concerned must also have access to the Court and have accepted its jurisdiction, in other words they must consent to the Court’s considering the dispute in question. This is a fundamental principle governing the settlement of international disputes, States being sovereign and free to choose the methods of resolving their disputes.
A State may manifest its consent in three ways:
- A special agreement: two or more States in a dispute on a specific issue may agree to submit it jointly to the Court and conclude an agreement for this purpose;
- A clause in a treaty: over 300 treaties contain clauses (known as compromissory clauses) by which a State party undertakes in advance to accept the jurisdiction of the Court should a dispute arise on the interpretation or application of the treaty with another State party;
- A unilateral declaration: the States parties to the Statute of the Court may opt to make a unilateral declaration recognizing the jurisdiction of the Court as binding with respect to any other State also accepting it as binding. This optional clause system, as it is called, has led to the creation of a group of States each having given the Court jurisdiction to settle any dispute that might arise between them in future. In principle, any State in this group is entitled to bring one or more other States in the group before the Court. Declarations may contain reservations limiting their duration or excluding certain categories of dispute. They are deposited by States with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
6. Are decisions of the Court binding?
Judgments delivered by the Court (or by one of its Chambers) in disputes between States are binding upon the parties concerned. Article 94 of the United Nations Charter lays down that “each Member of the United Nations undertakes to comply with the decision of [the Court] in any case to which it is a party”.
Judgments are final and without appeal. If either of the parties challenges their scope or meaning, it has the option to request an interpretation. In the event of the discovery of a fact hitherto unknown to the Court which might be a decisive factor, either party may apply for revision of the judgment.
As regards advisory opinions, it is usually for the United Nations organs and specialized agencies requesting them to give effect to them or not by whatever means are appropriate for them.
7. Does the Court offer internships?
Yes.The International Court of Justice offers internships of one to three months to students and young professionals who are in the early stages of their careers. The internship is an opportunity for them to put their knowledge and experience into practice, while performing certain tasks for the Court under the supervision of Registry officials.
Given the size of the organization, only a limited number of internships can be offered throughout the year. Placements are, however, possible in all departments and divisions of the Registry. The working languages of the Court are English and French.
Candidates are informed that they will not receive any financial compensation from the Court for their internship and that they will themselves be responsible for meeting immigration requirements, arranging travel and accommodation and obtaining valid medical/accident insurance coverage. They will further be required to sign a written undertaking binding themselves to keep strictly confidential any information obtained during the course of their internship. Upon completion of the internship, a certificate will be issued to them, summarizing the tasks performed and providing an evaluation of the work done.
Please note that an internship at the Registry does not create any expectancy of future employment with the Court or with the United Nations.
In order to apply for an internship simply complete the online application form and submit it via the website. The application form must be accompanied by a letter of recommendation in electronic format including the contact details of the referee.
All applications will be given careful attention. However, owing to their large number, the Court will not reply to telephone, e-mail or fax enquiries. Should you receive no reaction from the Court within eight months, please consider that your candidacy has been rejected. You may, however, submit a new application.
8. How does one apply for a job in the Registry of the Court?
For all information concerning job vacancies, please refer to the "Current vacancies" page on their Internet site.
9. Is it possible to visit the Peace Palace, seat of the Court?
The Carnegie Foundation, which owns the Peace Palace, arranges guided tours on weekdays. There is a charge for such visits.
However, no tours are arranged when the International Court of Justice is holding hearings or when other events are taking place in the Peace Palace.
Source:www.icj-cij.org
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