International court of Justice.

 International court of Justice.

Introduction

The international community is a dynamic one. This leads to clashes between the various

members of this community. States disagree on where their border is, contest islands of

maritime borders, violate treaties and other rules of international law. Then to who do states turn

to for help? Resolving matters of these natures is the job of the International Court of Justice

(ICJ).

The ICJ is not only needed for resolving international disputes. Even the UN seeks their help

when they need an opinion on a legal question.

The court has existed since 1946. The official languages are English and French. The United

Nations Charter is an integral part of the ICJ. Thus, all UN members state automatically

recognize the authority of the ICJ and can call for its help in any legal matter.

History

It is the successor court of the Permanent Court of International Justice. The Permanent Court

of International Justice was created in 1922 and by the league of nations. Between 1932 and

1940, it handled 60 cases. It was dissolved after World War II. The ICJ succeeded the

permanent court on the 18th of April 1946. It inherited not only its statue but also its

jurisprudence and its traditions.

Composition

The court consists of 15 judges and they are elected for a term of 9 years by the General

Assembly and the Security Council. Five posts are renewed every three years. Here, judges

may be re-elected. The members of the court must all be from different countries. But, we must

keep in mind that they do not represent their country and they are independent judges.

The composition of the court represents the following geographic balance.

•Three seats on the bench are occupied by African judges.

•Two seats are occupied by judges from Latin America and the Caribbean.

•Three are occupied by Asian judges.

•Five judges are occupied by judges from Western Europe and other Western States.

•Two judges are from Eastern Asia.

Usually, there is one judge from each of the countries who are permanent members.

Ad Hoc Judges

When a case is presented before the ICJ, and a state party does not have a judge on the bench

from their state, then they can choose a judge, known as a judge ‘ad hoc’. These judges can be

from any nationality and not necessarily have to be from the state party. They have the same

rights and duties as an elected judge.

President and Vice President

After every three years, the court elects its President and Vice President. The president chairs

all sittings of the court. He or she directs its work and supervises its administration. Annually,

the President presents a report on the workings of the ICJ to the General Assembly.

Duties

Like it’s predecessor, the ICJ has two roles. The first is to decide disputes between states.

These are known as Contentious Cases. The second role is to analyze legal questions

submitted to it by the General Assembly, the Security Council and other organisations and

agencies under the UN. These cases are known as Advisory Proceedings.

Contentious Cases

The courts first role is to judge legal disputes between states. This constitutes a large part of its

work. In the past, these cases would relate to border disputes, maritime delimitation and

diplomatic protection. But now cases such as human rights, environmental rights and the

responsibility of states are brought in front of the court. The court’s jurisdiction is general and

can consider any issue of international law. All UN members can bring cases of contentious

nature before the court. Non-member nations can also access the court but are subject to

certain conditions. Thus, the court’s jurisdiction extends throughout the world.

Current Cases

•The Rohingya Genocide

The Rohingya Genocide is a chain of persecutions by the Myanmar government and the

Buddhist community of Myanmar against the community of Muslim Rohingyas. The Myanmar

military and police cracked down on Rohingya Muslims and failed to check the growing

islamophobic sentiments against them. This resulted in thousands of Rohingyas being killed,

refugees fleeing to other countries, destruction of Rohingya villages, schools and businesses,

wide-scale violation of human rights by the military and gang rapes and other sexual violence

against women and girls of the Rohingya community. The Gambia (or Republic of The Gambia)

had brought a case against Myanmar for the Rohingya genocides. It was noted by the ICJ that

thousands of Rohingya refugees were made stateless due to state- sponsored violence. The

court observed that the Rohingyas were a ‘protected group’ under Article II of the Genocide

Convention. They stated that despite Rohingya Muslims living in Myanmar prior to

independence, they were ‘made stateless by the 1982 Citizenship Act and disfranchised in 2015

from electoral processes’. The bench ruled that Myanmar must keep in mind the duties given

under the Genocide and ensure all acts of prejudice against Rohingya Muslims are stopped.