In the latter case, an applicant State may at any time inform the Court that it is not going on with the proceedings, or the two parties may declare that they have agreed to withdraw the case. The Court then removes the case from its List.
Advisory proceedings before the Court are open solely to five organs of the United Nations and to 16 specialized agencies of the United Nations family.
The United Nations General Assembly and Security Council may request advisory opinions on «any legal question». Other United Nations organs and specialized agencies which have been authorized to seek advisory opinions can only do so with respect to «legal questions arising within the scope of their activities».
When it receives a request for an advisory opinion, the Court, in order that it may give its opinion with full knowledge of the facts, is empowered to hold written and oral proceedings, certain aspects of which recall the proceedings in contentious cases. In theory, the Court may do without such proceedings, but it has never dispensed with them entirely.
A few days after the request is filed, the Court draws up a list of those States and international organizations that will be able to furnish information on the question before the Court. Those States are not in the same position as parties to contentious proceedings: their representatives before the Court are not known as agents and their participation, if any, in the advisory proceedings does not render the Court’s opinion binding upon them. In general, the States listed are the Member States of the organization requesting the opinion. Any State not consulted by the Court may ask to be.
It is rare, however, for the ICJ to allow international organizations other than the one having requested the opinion to participate in advisory proceedings. With respect to non-governmental international organizations, the only one ever authorized by the ICJ to furnish information did not in the end do so (International Status of South West Africa). The Court has rejected all such requests by private parties.
Conclusion
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ 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 give advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorized international organs, agencies, and the UN General Assembly. The ICJ should not be confused with the International Criminal Court, which potentially also has global jurisdiction.
Established in 1945 by the UN Charter, the ICJ 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 is characterized by a wide range of judicial activity.
The ICJ is composed of fifteen judges elected to nine year terms by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council from a list of persons nominated by the national groups in the Permanent Court of Arbitration. The election process is set out in Articles 4−12 of the ICJ statute. Judges serve for nine year terms and may be re-elected for up to two further terms. Elections take place every three years, with one-third of the judges retiring (and possibly standing for re-election) each time, in order to ensure continuity within the court.
The issue of jurisdiction is considered in the two types of ICJ cases: contentious issues and advisory opinions.
Glossary
International Court of Justice — Международный Суд ООН
Binding — имеющий обязательную силу
United Nations Charter — Устав ООН
Pacific settlement — мирное решение спора
Mediation — посредничество
Conciliation — процедура примирения
Arbitration — третейский суд
Judicial settlement — судебное урегулирование
Treaty of Amity, Commerce and Navigation —
Adjudication —
Disarmament — разоружение
Advisory Committee — совещательный комитет
Chairmanship — обязанности председателя
Subcommittee — подкомитет
Statute — Статут
International political order — международный политический порядок
General Assemble — Генеральная Ассамблея
Triennial — повторяющийся каждые три года
Legal disputes — правовой спор
Contentious cases — спорное дело
Jurisdictional — относящийся к юрисдикции
Interpretation — толкование
Reciprocal — эквивалентный
Proceedings — процесс (судебный)
Empower — уполномачивать
Non-governmental international organizations — неправительственные международные организации
Nominate — выставлять кандтидата
Bibliography
Charter of the United Nations // URL:
http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/index.shtml
Hague Justice Portal // URL:
http://www.haguejusticeportal.net/
International Court of Justice // URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Court_of_Justice
International Court of Justice web-site // URL:
http://www.icj-cij.org/court/index.php?p1=1
Rules of Court (1978) // URL:
http://www.icj-cij.org/documents/index.php?p1=4&p2=3&p3=0
Statute of the International Court of Justice // URL:
http://www.icj-cij.org/documents/index.php?p1=4&p2=2&p3=0
Charter of the United Nations // URL:
http://www.un.org/en/documents/charter/index.shtml
International Court of Justice web-site // URL:
http://www.icj-cij.org/court/index.php?p1=1
International Court of Justice // URL:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Court_of_Justice
Statute of the International Court of Justice // URL:
http://www.icj-cij.org/documents/index.php?p1=4&p2=2&p3=0
Rules of Court (1978) // URL:
http://www.icj-cij.org/documents/index.php?p1=4&p2=3&p3=0
