International

Courts
Group 3
Bance|Guigayoma
Madale| Pangader
Quicoy

International Courts: A Report

How

created
International Court of Justice
Composition

of the court

Purpose
Cases

cognizable
Jurisdiction, how acquired
Proceedings in contentious cases
Enforcement of decisions
Criticism

 International

Criminal Court

General

Procedure
Cases Pending
Referral of cases and jurisdiction
ICJ

v. ICC
International Tribunal on the Law of the
Sea

Why?
Functional solutions to
cooperation dilemmas
among States.

How Created
By

treaties
Under authority of an
international tribunal
Ad

hoc tribunals

International Court of
Justice
Established in 1945 by the UN Charter,
the ICJ is the principal judicial organ of
the UN.

 The

Court may
not include
more than one
national of the
same State.
Africa 3, Latin
America and
Caribbean 2,
Asia 3, Western
Europe and
other states 5,
Eastern Europe
2.

Membership
15 judges elected by the
GA and the Security
Council who, like heads of
diplomatic missions, enjoy
immunities and privileges.

Dual Role
to

give judgments on contentious

cases submitted to it by States, in
accordance with international law
to hand down advisory opinions on
legal questions

Cases Cognizable
the

interpretation of a treaty;
any question of international law;
the existence of any fact which, if
established, would constitute a breach
of an international obligation;
the nature of extent of reparation to be
made for the breach of an international
obligation.

Jurisdiction, how acquired

The

Court is competent to
entertain a dispute only if the
States concerned have accepted
its jurisdiction in one or more of
the following ways:
Special

agreement
Jurisdictional clause
Through reciprocal effect of
declarations

Proceedings, how
instituted
Contentious Cases

Advisory Opinions
UN

Notification

of
special agreement
By means of
application

GA and Security
Council as well as
other authorized UN
organs and agencies
may seek advisory
opinions with respect
legal questions
concerning their
activities.

 All

UN Members
have the duty to
comply with the
decisions of the
Court involving
them.
If parties do not
comply, the
matter may be
taken before the
Security Council
for enforcement
action.

Decisions
How enforced

Criticisms
Compulsory

jurisdiction
Limitation of access to ICJ
ICJ does not enjoy full
separation of powers

International Criminal
Court
Established in 2002 by the Rome Statute, the ICC
is the first permanent treaty-based, international
court established to help end impunity for the
perpetrators of the most serious crimes.

ICC
Court

of last resort
Not a part of the UN
Primarily funded by States Parties, but
also receives voluntary contributions
from governments, international
organizations, corporations and entities

Cases
cognizable
War crimes
Crimes against humanity
Genocide
Crimes of Aggression

Criticisms
Jurisdiction

ICJ v. ICC
The main distinction lies with the fact that the ICC
is a criminal court while the ICJ is not.

As to creation and parties

ICJ
UN

Charter
Only states
may be parties

ICC
Rome

Statute
States and
other entities

As to cases cognizable
ICJ
Interpretation

ICC
of

treaty
Question of intl law
Breach of an intl
obligation
Reparation for
breach of obligation

War

crimes
Crimes against
humanity
Genocide
Crimes of
aggression

As to binding effect of decision

ICJ

ICC
Binding

Binding

only upon
the parties
concerned

to parties
concerned, but
may extend to all
UN members
when jurisdiction
is triggered by the
Security Council

International Tribunal on
the Law of the Sea
An independent judicial body established by the
UNCLOS to adjudicate decisions arising from or
out of the interpretation of the Convention.

 Disputes

concerning the
application of
the Convention
submitted to it
Disputes
concerning the
interpretation or
application of an
international
agreement

Jurisdiction
The tribunal has both
contentious and advisory
jurisdiction.

Choice of procedure
The International Tribunal for the Law of the
Sea
The International Court of Justice
An arbitral tribunal
A special arbitral tribunal for disputes relating
to (i) fisheries, (ii) Protection and preservation
of the marine environment, (iii) marine
scientific research, or (iv) navigation,
including pollution from vessels and from
dumping.

A Comparison
ICJ
Organ

of the UN
May only act on
the dispute when
brought by state
parties before it

ITLOS
Independent

organ created by
treaty
Special residual
compulsory
jurisdiction

Thank You.