The International Court of Justice Lives up to its Name

1987 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert W. Briggs

The Judgment of June 27, 1986 of the International Court of Justice provides convincing evidence of the high judicial quality of the Court and its Members. The really exceptional wealth of legal issues considered, carefully weighed and balanced, and decided in this case will long be a source of study for international lawyers. The present summary observations can examine only selected issues.

Author(s):  
Higgins Rosalyn ◽  
Webb Philippa ◽  
Akande Dapo ◽  
Sivakumaran Sandesh ◽  
Sloan James

The United Nations (UN) has expanded beyond all recognition since its founding in 1945. This volume represents a study that is entirely new, but is prepared in the way that has become so familiar over succeeding editions of Oppenheim’s International Law. It covers the formal structures of the UN as it has expanded over the years, and all that this complex organization does. All substantive issues are addressed in separate sections, including the responsibilities of the UN, financing, immunities, human rights, preventing armed conflicts, peacekeeping, and judicial matters. In examining the evolving structures and ever-expanding work of the UN, this volume follows the long-held tradition of Oppenheim by presenting facts uncoloured by personal opinion, in a succinct text that also offers in the footnotes extra information and ideas to be explored. It is a book that, while making all necessary reference to the UN Charter, the Statute of the International Court of Justice, and other legal instruments, tells of the realities of the legal issues as they arise in the day-to-day practice of the UN.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 509-535
Author(s):  
Sondre Torp Helmersen

Abstract Article 38(1) of the Statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ Statute) instructs the Court to ‘apply … the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists’. This raises the question of how to decide who these ‘publicists’ are and how to rank them. This article suggests four factors that the Court’s judges apparently use when assessing the weight of ‘teachings’: the quality of the work, the expertise and official positions of the author(s) and agreement between multiple authors. Judges may invoke these factors because it can make their opinions more authoritative and saves time, and in order to conform with Article 38 of the ICJ Statute. Counting the authors and teachings that judges have highlighted as having high quality, being experts and holding prestigious official positions provides a list that is different from the lists of writers who are cited most often and by the most judges. While this gives a rough idea of who ‘the most highly qualified publicists’ may be, it also shows that a final, conclusive ranking cannot be given.


1987 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-166
Author(s):  
Fred L. Morrison

The opinion of the International Court of Justice in the Nicaragua case will be of interest primarily because of its general pronouncements on questions of international law. Its impact on the immediate controversy appears slight; the United States Government has strongly indicated its view that the Court lacked jurisdiction over the controversy, has vetoed subsequent proposed Security Council resolutions on the subject, and is appropriating additional funds for the contested activities, without apparent reference to the Court’s decision. This Comment is limited to the general theoretical and legal issues and will not treat the underlying factual issues, the Court’s disposition of the immediate case or the implications of the opinion for the evolution of the dispute.


2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-64
Author(s):  
SANDESH SIVAKUMARAN ◽  
SANTIAGO VILLALPANDO

The long awaited judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was handed down on 26 February 2007. It has attracted the attention of the international legal community as well as political circles. In addition, the world media – not to mention the local media – have taken note of the judgment, with leading newspapers carrying the story on their front pages rather than buried deep within, as sadly tends to be the case with international legal issues.


Author(s):  
James D Fry ◽  
Saroj Nair

Abstract This Article explores the limits of judicial settlement of nuclear-weapon disputes through a case study of the Marshall Islands’ cases against India, Pakistan and the UK before the International Court of Justice in 2016. It posits that judicial settlement is limited mainly by the quality of the arguments and evidence submitted by the disputants, not by any limitations inherent in judicial settlement with such politically sensitive disputes. The lawyers in the Marshall Islands’ cases should have taken greater care in crafting their arguments and in tying them explicitly to Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and its customary equivalent.


Author(s):  
Daniel Costelloe

This chapter traces the manner in which the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) and the Jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have understood and applied notions of state jurisdiction in response to a variety of legal issues in international dispute settlement. These have notably included the so-called ‘reserved domain’ of domestic jurisdiction, which certain states have invoked in an effort to challenge the jurisdiction of an international court or tribunal or the admissibility of claims. They have also included the foundational question, invariably associated with the PCIJ’s judgment in the case concerning the SS Lotus, whether a state must invoke a permissive rule before it may lawfully territorial adjudicatory jurisdiction. Finally, these issues have involved international legal limitations on the exercise of such jurisdiction in the context of state immunity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-95
Author(s):  
José-Miguel Bello y Villarino

When discussing ‘golden passports’, modern-day academics and practitioners frequently and erroneously cite Nottebohm to claim that international law demands a ‘genuine link’ to grant nationality. Despite Nottebohm's central status in international law, such a view misrepresents the ruling of the majority of the International Court of Justice in the 1955 case. Nottebohm does indeed open very effective avenues to address some of the legal issues derived from citizenship-for-sale schemes, but not as is often assumed. This article reflects instead on Nottebohm's insightful distinction between the competence to grant a nationality, and the effects due under international law norms to that new nationality by third States. On that basis, the article proposes a number of options working within the bounds of international and EU law to protect those third States from some of the undesired trans-boundary effects of golden passports.


2002 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Orakhelashvili

On 27 June 2001, the International Court of Justice rendered its final decision in the case of LaGrand (Germany v. United States of America), which deals with many complex issues of international law. Apart from the very interesting substantive legal issues relating to the regime of consular assistance and death penalty in international law, the Judgment of the Court contains significant principles and reflections as to the essence and scope of international judicial jurisdiction. In contrast to the traditional approach to this question, the Court's Judgment is concerned with practical and specific aspects of jurisdiction in action, rather than dealing with general assumptions and conceptions surrounding the problem. From this point of view, the present contribution examines the significance of LaGrand as a case in which the traditional assumptions on international judicial jurisdiction are tested and reappraised.


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