International Court of Justice (ICJ)

Purpose

Settle legal disputes between states submitted to it, and give advisory opinions on legal questions referred by UN organs and specialized agencies.

Members:

All 193 UN member states are automatically parties to the ICJ Statute

Headquarters:

The Hague, Netherlands

History

The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, established by the UN Charter in 1945 and seated at the Peace Palace in The Hague, succeeding the League of Nations' Permanent Court of International Justice.

Structure

• 15 judges, elected by the UN General Assembly and Security Council for nine-year terms

Key facts

• Pakistan and India have both appeared before the ICJ, most notably in the Kulbhushan Jadhav case (2017–2019), in which the Court ordered Pakistan to review Jadhav's conviction and sentence
• Decisions bind only the states party to a given case and have no independent enforcement mechanism beyond the UN Security Council
• Distinct from the International Criminal Court (ICC), which prosecutes individuals rather than resolving disputes between states

Pakistan's relationship

A party to several ICJ cases, most notably the Kulbhushan Jadhav case brought by India (2017).