The International Court of Justice,also called the World Court,is the only international court that adjudicates general disputes between nations,and gives advisory opinions on international legal issues. It is one of the six organs of the United Nations (UN),and is located in The Hague,Netherlands.
Universal jurisdiction is a legal principle that allows states or international organizations to claim criminal jurisdiction over an accused person regardless of where the alleged crime was committed,and regardless of the accused's nationality,country of residence,or any other relation to the prosecuting entity. Crimes prosecuted under universal jurisdiction are considered crimes against all,too serious to tolerate jurisdictional arbitrage. The concept of universal jurisdiction is therefore closely linked to the idea that some international norms are erga omnes,or owed to the entire world community,as well as to the concept of jus cogens –that certain international law obligations are binding on all states.
Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons[1996] ICJ 3 is a landmark international law case,where the International Court of Justice gave an advisory opinion stating that while the threat or use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to international humanitarian law,it cannot be concluded whether or not such a threat or use of nuclear weapons would be lawful in extreme circumstances where the very survival of a state would be at stake. The Court held that there is no source of international law that explicitly authorises or prohibits the threat or use of nuclear weapons but such threat or use must be in conformity with the UN Charter and principles of international humanitarian law. The Court also concluded that there was a general obligation to pursue nuclear disarmament.
Hisashi Owada is a Japanese former jurist,diplomat and law professor. He served as a judge on the International Court of Justice from 2003 until June 7,2018,and was President of the Court from 2009 to 2012. He is the father of Empress Masako and the father-in-law of the incumbent Emperor of Japan,Naruhito.
Rosalyn C. Higgins,Baroness Higgins,is a British former president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). She was the first female judge elected to the ICJ,and was elected to a three-year term as its president in 2006.
Bosnia and Herzegovina v Serbia and Montenegro [2007] ICJ 2 is a public international law case decided by the International Court of Justice.
Stephen Myron Schwebel,is an American jurist and international judge,counsel and arbitrator. He previously served as judge of the World Bank Administrative Tribunal (2010–2017),as a member of the U.S. National Group at the Permanent Court of Arbitration,as president of the International Monetary Fund Administrative Tribunal (1993–2010),as president of the International Court of Justice (1997–2000),as vice president of the International Court of Justice (1994–1997),and as Judge of the International Court of Justice (1981–2000). Prior to his tenure on the ICJ,Schwebel served as deputy legal adviser to the U.S. Department of State (1974–1981) and as assistant legal adviser to the U.S. Department of State (1961–1967). He also served as a professor of law at Harvard Law School (1959–1961) and Johns Hopkins University (1967–1981). Schwebel is noted for his expansive opinions in momentous cases such as Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, Military and Paramilitary Activities in and Against Nicaragua and Oil Platforms.
Abdul Gadire Koroma is a Sierra Leonean jurist. He was the ambassador of Sierra Leone to the United Nations between 1981 and 1985. He served two terms as judge at the International Court of Justice.
The Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory of 9 July 2004 is an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in relation to the Israeli West Bank barrier.
Nawaf Salam is a Lebanese diplomat,jurist,and academic. He currently serves as the 27th president of the International Court of Justice. He was elected on 9 November 2017 as judge on the International Court of Justice for the 2018–2027 term,having received a concurrent majority of votes in the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council. He served as Lebanon's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York from 2007 to 2017,during which period he held the positions of President of the Security Council and Vice President of the General Assembly. He was elected as president of the International Court of Justice on 6 February 2024. Salam is the second Arab to be elected as president and the first Lebanese judge.
Mohamed Bennouna is a Moroccan diplomat and jurist. He worked as a professor at the Mohammed V University,as a permanent representative of his native country at the United Nations from 1998 to 2001,as a Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia,and as a judge of the International Court of Justice from 2006 to 2024.
Xue Hanqin is a Chinese jurist at the International Court of Justice. On 29 June 2010,she was elected to fill the vacancy created by Shi Jiuyong's resignation on 28 May 2010. She is one of three female judges serving on the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and one of only four women elected as members of the Court to date. Xue is the fifth Chinese judge at the ICJ,and the third representing the People's Republic of China.
Joan E. Donoghue is an American lawyer,international legal scholar,former U.S. State Department official,and former president of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). She was first elected to the court in 2010,re-elected in 2014,and elected by the ICJ judges to be president of the ICJ in 2021. She was the third woman to be elected to the ICJ and the first American woman elected as president of the Court.
The Sixty-sixth Session of the United Nations General Assembly opened on 13 September 2011 at 15:00 and was presided over by former Qatari permanent representative to the UN Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser. The session ended on 18 September as al-Nasser symbolically passed the gavel to the president of the next session,Vuk Jeremic.
The 2011 International Court of Justice election began on 10 November 2011 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. In the set of triennial elections,the General Assembly and the Security Council concurrently elect five judges to the Court for nine-year terms,in this case beginning on 6 February 2012. From the eight candidates,the five winners were Giorgio Gaja (Italy),Hisashi Owada (Japan),Peter Tomka (Slovakia),Xue Hanqin (China) and Julia Sebutinde (Uganda).
The 2014 International Court of Justice election began on 6 November 2014 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. In the set of triennial elections,the General Assembly and the Security Council concurrently elect five judges to the Court for nine-year terms,in this case beginning on 6 February 2015.
Solome Balungi Bossa is a Ugandan judge on the International Criminal Court (ICC). Prior to her election to the ICC,she was a member of the Court of Appeal in Uganda,which also doubles as the Constitutional Court in the Judiciary of Uganda. She was elected to a nine-year term on 5 December 2017 and was sworn in on 9 March 2018. Previously she was appointed to a six-year term on the African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights in 2014.
Elizabeth Ibanda-Nahamya was a Ugandan lawyer and judge,who,on 22 March 2018,was appointed Judge of the Mechanism for International Criminal Tribunals (MICT). The appointment by António Guterres,the Secretary General of the United Nations,was in replacement to the MICT,following the resignation of Judge Solomy Balungi Bossa,who was elected to the International Criminal Court. Before that,she sat on the High Court of Uganda,where she was assigned to the International Crimes Division of that court.
The 2020 International Court of Justice election were held on 11 and 12 November 2020 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. In the set of triennial elections,the General Assembly and the Security Council concurrently elect five judges to the Court for nine-year terms,in this case beginning on 6 February 2021. From the eight candidates,Yuji Iwasawa (Japan),Xue Hanqin (China),Peter Tomka (Slovakia),Julia Sebutinde (Uganda),and Georg Nolte (Germany) have been elected members of the International Court of Justice for a term of office of nine years,as both the Security Council and the General Assembly have agreed on the same candidates.
The proceedings instituted by South Africa against Israel on 29 December 2023 before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) are officially referred to as Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip.
