The United Nations International Court of Justice has ordered Russia to immediately suspend its military operations in Ukraine, following a case brought by Kyiv to the court shortly after Russia's war on it began on February 24.

The decision was supported by 13 judges to two, and although the court's decisions are binding, it does not have a direct means of implementing them, and countries have ignored them in the past in rare cases, which is what happened with Moscow, which announced its rejection of the court's decision.

Birth and founding

June 26, 1945: The International Court of Justice is established by the Charter of the United Nations signed in San Francisco and replaces the Permanent International Court of Justice.

The main seat of the court is located in the Dutch city of The Hague.

The International Court of Justice is a principal judicial body of the United Nations, and its mission - in accordance with international law - is to settle legal disputes that are brought before it, and to issue advisory opinions on legal issues referred to it by authorized United Nations bodies and specialized institutions.

Objectives

The Court plays a bilateral role. Under international law, it resolves legal disputes submitted by member states, and then provides advisory opinions on legal issues referred to it by authorized international bodies and agencies.

The Court operates according to a statute that is very similar to that of its predecessor (the Permanent International Court of Justice), which is an integral part of the Charter of the United Nations.

Since 1946, the International Court of Justice has ruled in disputes relating to land and maritime borders, territorial sovereignty, non-use of force and non-interference in the internal affairs of states, diplomatic relations and hostages, asylum, nationality, trusteeship, rights of water passage, and economic rights.

The Court also issued 28 advisory opinions, including, among other legal matters, the unilateral declaration of independence of Kosovo, the legal consequences of the construction of a wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, the territorial status of Southwest Africa (Namibia) and Western Sahara, and the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons.

structuring

The International Court of Justice is composed of 15 judges elected by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council for a term of nine years. Elections are held every three years for a third of the seats. Retired judges may be re-nominated. Members of the Court do not represent their governments but are independent judges.

Judges must have the qualifications required to hold the highest judicial offices in their countries, or be jurists of considerable competence in international law, and the composition of the Court must reflect the representation of the major civilizations and basic legal systems of the world.

If the court does not include a judge who has the nationality of a state party to a case, that state may appoint a person to act as a judge for this very purpose.

Only states can apply to and appear before the court, and the number of UN member states that have the right to do so is 191.

The Court is only qualified to hear a dispute if the States concerned have agreed to its jurisdiction through the following means:

- By agreement between them on a special unanimity to submit the dispute to the court.

- Under the jurisdiction clause, that is, when states are parties to an agreement that includes a clause that, in the event of a dispute over its interpretation or application, can refer one of these states to the court.

In the context of the mutual influence of the statements of these countries according to the law according to which each country agreed to the jurisdiction of the court as an obligation in the event of a conflict with another country that issued a similar statement.

As for the procedures, it includes the stage of recording, in which the parties raise and exchange allegations, and the stage of speaking, which includes public sessions to hear arguments in which agents and advisors address the court.

- Since the two official languages ​​of the Court are English and French, every record or pronunciation of one of the two languages ​​is translated into the other.

After the oral follow-ups, the court deliberates in secret and issues its ruling in an open session, and the ruling is final and not subject to appeal, and if one of the countries concerned does not comply with the ruling, the other party may resort to the UN Security Council.

The court may also establish a special judicial body, and the court formed this body for the first time in 1982, the second was in 1985, and two were formed in 1987 and the same in 2002.

1993: The Court established a seven-member panel to decide on environmental issues that fall within its jurisdiction.

The Court elects an urgent procedure panel each year according to its statute.

- The Court renders its judgments in accordance with applicable international treaties and charters, international custom, general legal rules, judicial rulings and the teachings of eminent international law experts, as additional sources.

The advisory procedures of the Court are open only to international organizations. The bodies currently authorized to seek the Court’s advice are five organs of the United Nations and 16 specialized agencies.

Are court decisions binding?

Decisions of the International Court of Justice are binding and final with respect to states and an appeal can be made against them (Article 94.1 of the Charter, Article 60 of the Statute).

The Security Council has the authority, at the request of the affected State, to implement special measures to enforce the judgment of the International Court of Justice (Article 94-2 of the Charter).

The following cases are currently before the court:

Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary vs. Slovakia).

Question of delimitation of the continental shelf between Nicaragua and Colombia beyond 200 nautical miles from the coast.

Alleged violations of the rights of sovereignty and maritime space in the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Colombia).

Dispute over the status and use of Silala water (Chile vs. Bolivia).

Some Iranian assets (Iran vs. the United States).

Implementation of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (Ukraine vs. Russia).

Arbitration Award issued on October 3, 1899 (Guyana v. Venezuela).

Alleged violations of the 1955 Treaty of Friendship, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights (Iran v. the United States).

Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem (Palestine vs. the United States).

Guatemala Regional, Insular and Maritime Application (Guatemala/Belize).

Implementation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Gambia v. Myanmar).

Delineation of land and sea borders and sovereignty over the islands (Gabon/Equatorial Guinea).

Implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan).

Implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Azerbaijan v. Armenia).

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