Verdicts: What are they and how do they work?

One of the key differences between the ICJ and other committees is that the ICJ does not concern itself with resolutions. Instead, as judges of the court, you will be expected to formulate Verdicts at the end of debate. Verdicts are documents that judges of the ICJ use to declare their ruling on the case. Just as a resolution is a reasoned reflection of one’s stance in committee, so too is the Verdict the culmination of arguments and evidence made throughout the course of the conference. In order to form your Verdicts, you will form a group of 4 or 5 with other fellow judges and write your Verdicts during unmoderated caucus sessions in the latter part of committee.

Verdicts in the ICJ at BMUN should be comprised of three primary sections: Overall Ruling, Evidence, and Legal Precedent and Implications. The Overall Ruling section deals with presenting your group’s ruling in terms of the four Levels of Guilt**. Here, explicitly address the Levels of Guilt your group has chosen to apply with a brief justification. Conclude this section in a similar manner to how you would conclude an essay; restate your group’s ruling and summarize the general arguments once more.

The Evidence section should include analyses of the evidence that led your group to consider your final ruling. While the general format of this section is up to your group’s discretion, we would recommend splitting it up into subsections for greater organization. In this section, consider general evidence (either presented in debate or from your own research), Witness testimony (take notes during witness questions to be able to use their testimony as evidence), and Historical precedent to substantiate your Verdicts.

The final section, Legal Precedent and Implications, serves as a platform for you to discuss the potential impact of your ruling and answer key questions about the case from your perspectives. Consider whether Ethnic Cleansing/ Genocide actually occurred in South Ossetia and Abkhazia and assess the level of responsibility various parties might have in this conflict. Most importantly, you must consider the legal precedent of your ruling (if adopted): What will your ruling mean for the future of International Law?

IMPORTANT: While it’s easy to form a premature opinion, wait until the actual conference to begin to formulate your Verdicts. New evidence from witnesses or even your fellow judges may sway you to consider this case differently!

**Levels of Guilt: The complicated cases that are debated in the ICJ cannot be judged in binary terms. Indeed, it is possible for different levels of guilt to be applied to Russia as the accused party. The levels of guilt increase in severity and may be applied at your discretion after participating in debate. The levels of guilt for this case are as follows:
1. Russia is fully acquitted of any wrongdoing in the case.
2. Russia violated Articles 4, 5, and 6 of CERD. (Note that these articles state that Russia should have guaranteed security of places that it claimed jurisdiction over)
3. Russia had an obligation to prevent genocide and racial discrimination through conscious physical/ military action.
4. Russia is guilty of complicity to commit ethnic discrimination by means of ethnic cleansing. (This is the highest level of guilt and places the full brunt of Georgia’s application on Russia)

How to apply Levels of Guilt in Verdicts/ Debate:
If, after considering the evidence provided during debate, your group decides to apply the first level of guilt (full acquittal of Russia), then your group must automatically reject all other Levels of Guilt. In your Overall Rulings section, briefly justify why your group feels it necessary to reject the other levels of guilt.

If your group feels it necessary to apply only the second level of guilt, then a similar justification must be provided in the Overall Rulings section. If you choose the third of fourth levels of guilt, on the other hand, your group will be considered to have voted for each preceding level of guilt except or the 1st. This is because of the fact that other than the 1st level, each subsequent level of guilt is assumed to contain the previous one. For example, if you choose to apply only the third level of guilt, then it is assumed that you also consider Russia to be guilty of the second level of guilt. If you apply the fourth level of guilt, you automatically adopt the 2nd and 3rd levels as well.


This can be rather complicated and we’ll definitely reiterate all of this information during conference. If you have any questions, then don’t be afraid to reach out to us!