Who is international court of justice

Help us continue to fight human rights abuses. Please give now to support our work. Human Rights Watch. Donate Now. Take Action. Join Us. Give Now. Click to expand Image. Your tax deductible gift can help stop human rights violations and save lives around the world. More Reading. December 3, Report. November 26, Dispatches. In several cases, the International Court of Justice has specified that the behavior of a State agent or body always engages the responsibility of that State without the necessity for proving that this agent or body acted upon orders or went beyond them see Dispute Relating to Immunity from Legal Process of a Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights , Advisory Opinion, ICJ Reports [I], p.

The responsibility of the State for actions committed by non-state armed groups acting under its more or less strict control was specified in three major cases by the International Court of Justice. United States of American , paras. Serbia and Montenegro , paras. The question of the definition of occupation and the obligations of the occupying force has been examined by the ICJ in the framework of two important cases Democratic Republic of Congo v. The ICJ recognized that the definition of occupation and the obligations related thereto are included in both the Hague rules of and in the Fourth Geneva Convention.

It stated the customary character of one part of this law, which is therefore not subjected to the formality of ratification by the occupying State Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory paras.

Uganda , para. In the particular case of occupation, the Court also affirmed the extraterritorial application of the conventions relating to human rights by the occupying power to people and territories placed under its control. The International Court of Justice has established the principle of the simultaneous and extraterritorial application of human rights and international humanitarian law.

It states that the application of human rights does not desist during armed conflicts, with the exception of existing derogation clauses and in keeping with the existing procedures designed for this purpose. The Court further adds that the conventions relating to human rights are extraterritorial in particular in situations of occupation or detention, due to the fact that control is exercised by a State on certain individuals or foreign territories Legality of the Threat or the Use of Nuclear Weapons , Consultative Opinion, ICJ Collection , p.

The ICJ specified the rules of interpretation of international law as contained in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and denied the validity of State interpretations of the international humanitarian law that lead to clearly absurd and unreasonable results Petrol Platforms [ Islamic Republic of Iran v. In several judgments, the ICJ recalled the existence of an obligation for States to compensate another State for the consequences of their illegal acts Factory at Chorzow , Competence, , Series A No.

However, the ICJ distinguished this State obligation from the individual right to reparation for victims of human rights or humanitarian law violations and restated the jurisdictional immunity of the States in respect of requests for reparation coming directly from individual victims of Nazi war crimes.

The Court restated that customary international humanitarian law always imposes the recognition of the immunity of the State whose armed forces or other bodies are accused of having committed harmful acts on the territory of a foreign State during an armed conflict.

It also confirms that this immunity is not dependent upon the seriousness of the alleged acts Case on the Jurisdictional Immunities of the State [ Germany v. Italy; Greece Intervening ], Judgment, 3 February , paras.

The ICJ confirmed in another case the existence of the jurisdictional immunity enjoyed by heads of States, governments, and foreign ministers in office.

The Court underlined however that this immunity is not applicable for war crimes or crimes against humanity they could have perpetrated. Indeed, the ICJ considers that immunity from criminal jurisdiction and individual criminal responsibility are distinct notions. Jurisdictional immunity is not permanent and only prevents criminal prosecution for a limited period. In addition, jurisdictional immunity remains before national courts but cannot be invoked before the ICJ Arrest Warrant of 11 April [ Democratic Republic of Congo v.

Apostolidis, Charalambos. The Judgments of the International Court of Justice. Dijon: University of Dijon, Chetail, Vincent. International Public Law. Paris: LGDJ, , esp. Guillaume, Gilbert. Labrecque, Georges. Bruylant: Editions Yvon Blais Canada, Toggle navigation. Advanced search The Practical Guide to Humanitarian Law « Calling things by the wrong name adds to the affliction of the world.

Cookies disclaimer I agree Our site saves small pieces of text information cookies on your device in order to deliver better content and for statistical purposes. Kenya - Reading of the Judgment of the Court. Statements by the President 29 October Speech of H. Donoghue, President of the International Court of Justice, on the occasion of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Court video message.

Publications ICJ Annuaire-Yearbook Since , the Registry has produced a Yearbook, an annual publication providing general information on the organization, jurisdiction and activities of the Court. The latest edition of the Handbook of the International Court of Justice In , the Court published the latest edition of the Handbook.

Its purpose is to provide the general public with a simple, comprehensible overview of the history, composition, jurisdiction, procedure and decisions of the Court. Catalogue The Catalogue contains the list of all the publications of the Court published since its establishment in Multilingual Resources The website of the Court is fully available in its two official languages, French and English.

Calendar No public hearing of the Court is currently scheduled Read more Read more It may not include more than one judge of any one nationality. The Members of the Court do not represent their governments but rather are independent magistrates.