UNITAR Invited the International Court of Justice to Geneva

UNITAR ICJ event

24 November 2014, Geneva, Switzerland – Located in the Peace Palace, The Hague, the Netherlands, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the primary juridical organ of the United Nations. The ICJ performs two very crucial functions: It settles legal disputes submitted to it by states and provides advisory opinions on questions on international law submitted by authorized international agencies. The ICJ thereby plays an important role for the peaceful settlement of disputes as well as for the strengthening and the development of international law.

In order to enable delegates to better understand the ICJ’s contribution to international peace and justice and their own role in relation to the ICJ, UNITAR organized a briefing on 24 November 2014, inviting Mr. Philippe Couvreur, the Registrar of the ICJ, to meet with Geneva’s diplomatic community in the Council Chamber of the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

More than 125 delegates came to interact with Mr. Couvreur and discuss the history, structure, and functioning of the ICJ. The Court is composed of fifteen judges elected by the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council to nine-year terms. Although there is no formal rule on geographical representation, it is a common understanding that nationals from different geographical areas as well as nationals from all five permanent members of the Security Council should be represented among the judges. In addition, there is the possibility to select ad hoc judges to sit on contentious cases before the Court, in case there is no national of a party to the case among the fifteen judges. Mr. Couvreur explained that these ad hoc judges often play crucial roles, because they offer other judges an understanding of the state's perspective and possess detailed knowledge about domestic circumstances. On average, the ICJ deals with fifteen cases throughout the year. Every year about three cases are concluded, while three new cases are brought up to the court.

After Mr. Couvreur’s remarks, delegates used this valuable opportunity to ask a number of questions and to engage in a dialogue with the Registrar. The questions covered many different topics such as gender representation, the “Secretary General’s Trust Fund”, the influence of ad hoc judges, and the scope of advisory opinions states or institutions can ask for.

Having received very positive feedback on this event, UNITAR is already looking forward to implementing more training activities for the diplomatic community in Geneva and in other major UN locations in the future.

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