Public Law Studies Quarterly

The Interplay Between Contentious-Case Judgments and Advisory Opinions of the International Court of Justice

Document Type : Article

Authors

Meisam Norouzi 1
Pouya Berelian 2

1 Assistant Prof in public of international law, Department of law, Faculty of humanities, Bu-Ali Sina university, Hamadan, Iran

2 Ph.D. in International Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, Allameh Tabataba'i University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22059/jplsq.2022.344419.3103
Abstract
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has jurisdiction over all matters involving two parties bringing their case to the Court, as well as over specific cases anticipated by the United Nations Charter or current treaties and agreements. Essentially, advisory opinions are not binding on the international organs and institutions that request them on behalf of their respective governments. Nonetheless, the statutes of international organizations or conventions may stipulate that advisory opinions shall be binding. Section 2 of Article 94 of the UN Charter specifies judgments. Advisory opinions possess a binding character similar to treaties, statutes, and charter interpretations, achieved through adversarial proceedings, the role of requesting organs, or customary rules. However, rather than being two separate and independent entities, judgments and advisory opinions share many commonalities as well as differences. The present research draws on library and online materials, as well as documents from the International Court of Justice, to scrutinize the interactive function of judgments and advisory opinions of the ICJ and their role in the evolution of international law.

Keywords

contentious-case judgments
development of international law
International Court of Justice
Permanent Court of International Justice
advisory opinions
Subjects

  1. English

    1. A) Books
    2. Aljaghoub, M. M. (2006). The Advisory Function of the International Court of Justice 1946−2005. Berlin: Springer.
    3. Ameransinghe, C. f. (2009). Jurisdiction of international tribunals, kluwer law international. Leiden: Brill.
    4. Bedjaoui CF; M. (1996-97). The forum prorogatum before the international court of justice; the resources of an institution or the hidden face of counsensualism. ICJ year book. New York: United Nations Publications.
    5. Bennouna, M. (2014). The International Court of Justice: Bestriding Past and Present. Leiden: Brill.
    6. Cassese, A. (2001). International Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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    10. Lauterpacht, H. (1958). The Development of International Law by the International Court. London: Stevens and Sons.
    11. Lissitzyn, O. J. (1951). The International Court of Justice: Its Role in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security. New York: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
    12. Mcintyre, j. (2019).The Judicial Function. Springer. Berlin: Springer.
    13. Pratap, D. (1972). The advisory jurisdiction of the ICJ. Oxford: Clarendon press.
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    1. B) Articles
    2. Bogdandy, A. v. (2006). Constitutionalism in International Law: Comment on a Proposal from Germany. Harvard International Law Journal, 47, 223-242.
    3. Gowlland-Debbas, V. (1994). The Relationship between the International Court of Justice and the Security Council in the Light of the Lockerbie Case. American Journal of International Law, 88(4), 643-677. DOI:10.2307/2204134
    4. Greenwood, C. (2011). The Role of the ICJ in the Global Community. Lecture at University of California, available at: https://www.academia.edu/18095895/The_Role_of_the_ICJ_in_the_Global_Community(last visited:May2022) & University of California Journal of International Law and Policy, Vol. 17, 233-251.
    5. Greenwood, C. (2014). Judicial Integrity and the Advisory Jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. In Enhancing the Rule of Law through the International Court of Justice. edited by Giorgio Gaja and Jenny Grote Stoutenburg. Leiden:Brill, 63-74.
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    7. Jones, H. (2012). Whay Comply? An Analysis of Trends in Compliance with Judgment of the International Court of Justice Since Nicaragua. Chi-kent International and Comparative Law, Vol.12, 57-98.
    8. Kawano, M. (2014). Decisions of the International Court of Justice on Disputes Concerning Internal Law. In Enhancing the Rule of Law through the International Court of Justice. edited byGiorgio Gaja and Jenny Grote Stoutenburg. Leiden:Brill, 119-138.
    9. Llamzon, A. P. (2008). Jurisdiction and Compliance in Recent Decisions of the International Court of Justice. European Journal of International Law, 815–852. DOI: 10.1093/ejil/chm047
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    13. O’Connell, M. E. (1990). The Prospects for Enforcing Monetary Judgments of the International Court of Justice: A Study of Nicaragua’s Judgment against the United States. Virginia Journal of International Law, 30, 891-940.
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    1. C) Advisory Opinions and Judgments of ICJ
    2. International Court of Justice (15 Dec.1949), Corfu Channel Case.
    3. International Court of Justice (30 March 1950), Interpretation of Peace Treaties with Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, Advisory Opinion.
    4. International Court of Justice (23 Oct.1956),Judgments of the Administrative Tribunal of the ILO upon complaints made against the UNESCO, Advisory Opinion.
    5. International Court of Justice (8 June 1960), Constitution of the Maritime Safety Committee of the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization, Advisory Opinion.
    6. International Court of Justice (21 Dec.1962),South West Africa (Liberia v. South Africa).
    7. International Court of Justice (2Dec 1963), Northern Cameroons (Cameroon v. United Kingdom).
    8. International Court of Justice (5 Feb.1970), Barcelona Traction Case.
    9. International Court of Justice (11 Jun.1970), Legal Consequences for States of the Continued Presence of South Africa in Namibia (South West Africa).
    10. International Court of Justice (16Oct.1975), Western Sahara Case.
    11. International Court of Justice (8 July 1996), Legality of the Use by a State of Nuclear Weapons in Armed Conflict, Advisory Opinion.
    12. International Court of Justice (9 July 2004), Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion.
    13. International Court of Justice (20 July 2004), Application for Review of Judgment No. 273 of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal.
    14. International Court of Justice (26 Feb.2007) Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro).

     

    1. D) Documents
    2. Charter of the United Nations.
    3. Statute of The International Court of Justice.
    4. The International Court of Justice: Rules of Court.

     

    1. E) Websites
    2. http://www.ghavanin.ir/PaperDetail.asp?id=678(Last Visited: Feb.2022)
    3. http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=2(Last Visited: Feb.2022)

     

    References in Persian:

    1. A) Books
    2. Khavar, M. (1964). Jurisdiction of The Hague Tribunal. Tehran: Iranian Commercial Bank Printing House (In Persian).
    3. Solhchi, M. A. & Nejandi Manesh, H. (2008). Peaceful settlement of international disputes. Tehran: Mizan Publishing (In Persian).
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    6. Wallace, R. (2003). Public International Law. translated by Seyed Ghasem Zamani, and Mahnaz Bahramloo. Tehran: Shahr-e Danesh (In Persian).

     

    1. B) Articles
    2. Alborzi, M. (2004). Critique of the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on Threatening or Using Nuclear Weapons. Legal Journal, Vol.21, 5-87. DOI: 10.22066/CILAMAG.2004.18001 (In Persian).
    3. Habibi, H., & Shamloo, S. (2014). The Role of the ICJ in the Development of International Law. Public Law Research, 15, 71-114 (In Persian).
    4. Zamani, S. G., & Shamloo, S. (2012). Relativity of the decisions of the International Court of Justice in theory and practice. International Legal Research, 5, 40-96 (In Persian).
    5. Maqami, A, (2016). The Possibility of the Impact of the International Court of Justice on the Globalization of Law. available in: bayanbox.ir/id/2284399125669879036?download (In Persian).
    6. Conference Proceedings (2010). .The Role of the International Court of Justice in the Continuity and Development of International Law. Compiled by: Iranian Association for United Nations Studies, Publisher: Iranian Association for United Nations Studies, Published May 10, 2010 (In Persian).
    7. Najafi Esfad, M., & Hadi, M. (2005). Guarantee of implementation of the rulings of the International Court of Justice. Legal Journal, 1, 25-48 (In Persian).

     

    1. C) Dissertations
    2. Issaei, S. (1996). Limits of the influence or scope of the advisory opinions of the International Court of Justice. Master Thesis. Supervisor: Mohammad Reza Ziai Bigdeli. Tehran: Allameh Tabatabai University, Faculty of Law and Political Science, 1996 (In Persian).
Public Law Studies Quarterly
Volume 54, Issue 3
Autumn 2024
Autumn 2024
Pages 2073-2103

  • Receive Date 13 June 2022
  • Revise Date 23 September 2022
  • Accept Date 24 October 2022

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