INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE - INTERNATIONAL
News: Allies
of Ukraine to legally fight Russia; UN court gives green light
What is in the news?
●
Recently, The International
Court of Justice (ICJ), UN’s top court, gave green light to Ukraine’s western
allies to support it in its legal fight against Russia.
Key takeaways from the news:
●
ICJ issued an order
clearing 32 countries including France, Britain and Germany to support Ukraine.
●
However, the ICJ
dismissed a bid by the United States to join the case
International Court of Justice:
About:
·
It is the principal
judicial organ of the United Nations.
·
It isn't a part of six
principal organs of the UN.
Year of establishment:
It was established under the United
Nations Charter in 1945.
Headquarters:
The Hague, Netherland.
Function:
It settles legal disputes between States and gives advisory opinions in
accordance with international law, on legal questions referred to it by
authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
Members:
193 countries, India is one of the
members.
Structure:
The Court is composed of 15 judges,
who are elected for terms of office of nine
years by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council.
The 15 judges of the Court are distributed in
following regions:
●
Three from Africa.
●
Two from Latin America
and the Caribbean.
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Three from Asia.
●
Five from Western Europe
and other states.
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Two from Eastern Europe.
Jurisdictions:
●
It solves legal disputes between the states.
●
It provides advisory opinions on legal questions.
●
Opinions
provided by the court in advisory proceedings are essentially advisory and not binding
●
The judgment is final, binding
on the parties to a case and without
appeal.
Limitations:
●
It has no jurisdiction to try individuals
accused of war crimes or crimes against humanity.
●
The ICJ only has
jurisdiction based on consent, not
compulsory jurisdiction.
It doesn't have
Suo Motu power.