What is the International Court of Justice?

Hello delegates! Our first blogpost will be an introduction to what the International Court of Justice is and what purpose it serves.

To begin with, the ICJ is the only judicial branch of the United Nations and assists in resolving various disputes between member nations and other arbitration. It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in April 1946. The ICJ is located in The Hague in Netherlands. 

 In terms of how the Court functions, there are fifteen judges that sit on the Court and resolve cases; each of the judges is appointed from a different country. They are elected to nine-year terms, as opposed to the United States' Supreme Court, which appoints judges for life. 

 As mentioned in the topic synopsis for this committee, the ICJ solves disputes for two types of cases: advisory proceedings and contentious cases. Contentious cases are just disputes between two member countries that must reach a conclusion (i.e. Georgia v. Russia) and advisory proceedings are opinions on legal questions requested by the United Nations, themselves. Advisory opinions essentially help the UN in making informed legal decisions and ensuring that they are complying with international law. 

 If you would like to read more about the ICJ and how it works, here is the official website! 

  https://www.icj-cij.org/en

 If you have any questions about the ICJ or how our committee will work, please leave them in the comments below and we will respond!

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