International Court of Justice (ICJ)

The UN's principal judicial organ

Main organs

The ICJ settles legal disputes submitted by states and gives advisory opinions on legal questions referred by UN organs and agencies.

Composition

15 judges elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council voting separately; an absolute majority in both is needed.
Judges serve nine-year terms and can be re-elected; one-third are elected every three years.
No two judges may be nationals of the same state.
It is the only principal organ not located in New York.

Jurisdiction

Contentious cases: only states can be parties, and only if they consent, through special agreement, treaty clauses or optional declarations.
Advisory opinions: on legal questions referred by the General Assembly, the Security Council or authorized agencies; these are not binding but carry great authority.

Important cases

Well-known decisions include the Corfu Channel case (1949), Nicaragua v. United States (1986), the advisory opinion on the Israeli wall in occupied Palestinian territory (2004), and South Africa v. Israel (2024, provisional measures). Pakistan was involved in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case brought by India (judgment 2019).

Pakistan and the ICJ

Sir Muhammad Zafarullah Khan served as a judge of the ICJ and was its President from 1970 to 1973.

Limitations

The Court cannot hear a case unless the states involved consent, and it has no police force: enforcement depends on the parties and, ultimately, the Security Council.