International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice (ICJ; French: Cour internationale de justice, CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only <a href="/facts/International_court/uD8z7W7F">international court</a> that <a href="/facts/Adjudication/3cL868SV">adjudicates</a> general disputes between nations, and gives <a href="/facts/Advisory_opinions/EwK5R60z">advisory opinions</a> on <a href="/facts/International_law/WJEPeq44">international legal</a> issues. It is one of the <a href="/facts/United_Nations_System/wFmwSkcd">six organs</a> of the <a href="/facts/United_Nations/fgXLnmgT">United Nations</a> (UN), and is located in <a href="/facts/The_Hague/NRtu1Qqk">The Hague</a>, Netherlands.
The ICJ is the successor of the <a href="/facts/Permanent_Court_of_International_Justice/L2c9NCDK">Permanent Court of International Justice</a> (PCIJ), which was established in 1920 by the <a href="/facts/League_of_Nations/PQlcKzXs">League of Nations</a>. After the <a href="/facts/World_War_II/2efV5L1U">Second World War</a>, the League and the PCIJ were replaced by the United Nations and ICJ, respectively. The <a href="/facts/Statute_of_the_ICJ/IYR8UvQu">Statute of the ICJ</a>, which sets forth its purpose and structure, draws heavily from that of its predecessor, whose decisions remain valid. All <a href="/facts/Member_states_of_the_United_Nations/rpx3f10b">member states of the UN</a> are party to the ICJ Statute and may initiate contentious <a href="/facts/Legal_case/u3EndCPa">legal cases</a>; however, advisory proceedings may be submitted only by certain UN organs and <a href="/facts/List_of_specialized_agencies_of_the_United_Nations/3E6gkQqp">agencies</a>.
The ICJ consists of a panel of 15 <a href="/facts/Judge/2MgrCxc1">judges</a> elected by the <a href="/facts/United_Nations_General_Assembly/pNDmCu8X">UN General Assembly</a> and <a href="/facts/United_Nations_Security_Council/ytwaz2e4">Security Council</a> for nine-year terms. No more than one judge of each nationality may be represented on court at the same time, and judges collectively must reflect the principal <a href="/facts/Civilization/xvGpjDPj">civilizations</a> and <a href="/facts/Legal_system/mc4tYzf0">legal systems</a> of the world. Seated in the <a href="/facts/Peace_Palace/Luf0Ic5T">Peace Palace</a> in The Hague, the ICJ is the only principal UN organ not located in <a href="/facts/New_York_City/YlyvFmVC">New York City</a>. Its official <a href="/facts/Working_language/uyqtVny6">working languages</a> are English and French.
Since the entry of <a href="/facts/Corfu_Channel_case/gutkw059">its first case</a> on 22 May 1947, the ICJ has managed <a href="/facts/List_of_International_Court_of_Justice_cases/zrB83Npn">191 cases</a> through 13 November 2023. Pursuant to Article 59 of the <a href="/facts/Statute_of_the_International_Court_of_Justice/IYR8UvQu">Statute of the International Court of Justice</a>, the court's rulings and opinions are binding on the parties with respect to the particular case ruled on by the court.

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International Court of Justice