The International Court of Justice

Ezra Azzoparde, President

The role of the International Court of Justice -- the principal judicial organ of the United Nations -- is to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by member states and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.  

The Court may enter into proceedings in one of two ways: in "Contentious Cases", two (or more) member states of the United Nations submit a legal dispute to the Court for ruling.  During these cases, the parties on both sides of the dispute have agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of the Court, as well as to the Court's final ruling, which is binding and unavailable for appeal.  The second type of case is known as an "Advisory Proceeding", during which the united Nations General Assembly or Security Council request advisory opinions on "any legal question".  When it receives such a request, the Court is empowered to hold written and oral proceedings, in order to give its opinion with full knowledge of the facts.

During the WestMUN conference, the ICJ will primarily handle Contentious Cases, such as the Case concerning Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States of America), and the more recent Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Georgia v. Russian Federation).

A Full Report from the President will be available soon!

More information on the International Court of Justice can be found at www.ICJ-CIJ.org