The
International Court of Justice (ICJ) was established in 1945
as a world court. The seat of the Court is located
at the Hague in the Peace Palace which was formerly occupied by the Permanent
Court of International Justice. The ICJ is the principal judicial organ
of the United Nations and traces its origins to the Permanent Court of
International Justice (PCIJ) which was established by the League of Nations.
History
Article 14
of the Covenant of the League of Nations gave the Council of the League
responsibility for formulating plans for the establishment of a Permanent
Court of International Justice (PCIJ). The Court was established in 1921.
It heard any dispute of an international character submitted to it by
the parties to the dispute, and also gave advisory opinions in questions
referred to it by the Council or by the Assembly. The PCIJ was dissolved
at the same time as the League of Nations in 1946.
The International
Court of Justice (ICJ) was established in 1945 to be the successor to
the PCIJ. It was set up in under the Charter of the United Nations to
be the principal judicial organ of the Organization, and its basic instrument,
the Statute of the Court, forms an integral part of the Charter.
According
to Article 34 of the Statute of the ICJ, only states may be parties in
cases before the court. Individuals do not have access to the court. International
organizations may seek advisory opinions. A state does not need to be
a member of the UN to bring a case before the court; however, the state
must comply with the decision of the Court and accept all the obligations
of a member.
The ICJ consists
of fifteen members. Members of the court serve for nine years. The members
are elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council. To be elected,
a candidate must obtain an absolute majority of votes in both the General
Assembly and the Security Council.
Primary
Publications - ICJ
Charter of the United Nations, Statute and Rules of Court and Other
Documents
KZ6277.U56 1989 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
This publication contains the texts of the United Nations Charter,
the Statute and Court Rules, the Resolution concerning the Internal
Judicial Practice of the Court, and certain documents relating to
the Court's privileges and immunities. The Statute of the International
Court of Justice can also be found in several of the secondary sources
listed below and on the Internet at http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/ibasicdocuments.htm
Pleadings,
Oral Arguments, Documents
1948-1972 are available on microfiche in cabinet 10 (JX1971.6A246; Micrographics-pageable).
1973-1981 are available in print (KZ218.P54; United Nations Plaza-pageable) [Note:
This set is incomplete.]
These volumes contain the documents instituting the proceedings, the written
pleadings, the verbatim record of the oral proceedings, and any documents
relating to the case submitted to the Court.
Press
Communiqués
Provides announcements of new judgments and orders, new cases, and
election of judges. Beginning with 1997 these press releases are
available on the Internet at http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/ipresscom/iprlast.html.
Reports
of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders
KZ214.I58 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
This series contains the reports of the decisions of the ICJ. Each decision
is published as soon as it is rendered. The text is printed in both English
and French. An analytical index is published each January for the previous
years decisions. The Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders may also
be found on WESTLAW in the INT-ICJ database. Coverage begins with 1947
and includes new documents as they are released by the court. The Readex
Microfiche Collection (Micrographics Cabinets 10-12) includes the
Reports of Judgments, Advisory Opinions, and Orders. The judgments and
orders in all contentious cases and advisory opinions referred to the
ICJ since 1946 are also available on the Internet at http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/idecisions.htm
(while most of these are full-text, some are summaries).
Primary
Publications - PCIJ
World
Court Reports: A Collection of the Judgments, Orders, and Opinions of
the Permanent Court of International Justice
Edited by Manley O. Hudson
JX1971.5.A63 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Three volumes covering 1922 through 1935.
Publications
of the Permanent Court of International Justice
KZ208.P477 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Series A contains judgments; Series B contains advisory opinions; Series
A/B contains judgments, orders, and advisory opinions; Series C includes
pleadings, oral statements, acts, and documents; Series D contains acts
and documents concerning the organization of the court; Series E contains
the annual report of the PCIJ.
Publications
of the Permanent Court of International Justice
KZ208.P48 (Micrographics-pageable)
This is a set of 36 microfilm reels with a print guide.
Digests
& Online Searching
Case
Law of the International Court.
KZ214.P67 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Decisions of the ICJ from 1951-1976 are indexed in this set.
Digest
of the Decisions of the International Court of Justice, 1976-1985.
KZ213.D52 1990 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Digest
of Decisions of the International Court.
KZ213.P68 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Includes summaries of cases brought before the international courts. Volume
1 covers the PCIJ (1922-1939); Volume 2 covers the ICJ (1947-1974).
International
Court of Justice - Search Page (temporarily being re-constructed:
4-11-05)
Search for written & oral pleadings, orders, judgments, and
other ICJ documents at http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/isearch/default.asp.
Summaries
of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders of the International Court
of Justice, 1948-1991.
KZ213.S85 1992 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Summaries
of Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders of the International Court of
Justice, 1992-1996.
KZ213.S85 1998 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
World
Court Digest.
KZ213.W67 1993 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
This is an excellent subject index to ICJ decisions. The library has volume
2 covering 1991-1995 and volume 3 covering 1996-2000. The World Court
Digest is also available on the Internet at http://www.virtual-institute.de/en/wcd/wcd.cfm
Secondary
Sources
Compulsory
Jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice; by Renata Szafarz.
KZ6283.S93 1993 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements
KZ4968.O82 2003 (Reference Collection)
Includes the text of the Statute of the International Court of Justice.
International
Court of Justice, Selected Documents Relating to the Drafting of the Statute.
KZ6277.U59 1946 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
International
Legal Materials
Washington, D.C. American Society of International Law, 1962-present.
KZ64.I58 (Current volumes in the First Floor Library Stacks and older issues
in the United Nations Plaza-pageable)
The library has 1962 through the current issue. This periodical includes
selected ICJ judgments and other current documents before the material
becomes available in the permanent collections. Available on Lexis (INTLAW;ILM)
and Westlaw (ILM database).
Law
and Practice of the International Court; by Shabtai Rosenne.
KZ6275.R67 1985 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Law
and Procedure of the International Court of Justice; by Sir Gerald
Fitzmaurice.
KZ6275.F58 1986 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Permanent
Court of International Justice, 1920-1942
JX1971.5 H719 1972 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
An important treatise on the PCIJ by Manley O. Hudson. This is a reprint
of the original 1943 edition with a new introduction.
World
Court: What It Is and How It Works; by Shabtai Rosenne.
KZ6275.R671 1995 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Yearbook
- International Court of Justice.
KZ6273.A15 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
The library has most of the volumes published since 1946. This yearbook
gives an account of the work of the court from August 1 of the previous
year to July 31 of the current year. The Yearbook contains valuable information
about the organization and finances of the Court and biographies of the
judges. In one section, the decisions and pleadings are listed in chronological
order. The Readex UN Microfiche Collection also includes the Yearbook
as part of the microfiche set.
Yearbook
of the United Nations
JZ4947.U5 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
Includes the text of the Statute of the International Court of Justice.
Bibliographies
Bibliography
of the International Court of Justice
KZ6272.B48 (United Nations Plaza-pageable)
The library has vol. 23 (1969), vol. 30 (1976), vol. 36 (1982), and vol.
41 (1987) through the most recently published volume.
At the beginning of each year, the Registry of the Court issues a listing
of works and documents relating to the Court. Up to the years 1963-64,
the Bibliography formed Chapter IX of the Yearbook. Beginning with Bibliography
number 19, it has been issued as a separate publication. The Bibliography
is also included in the Readex Microfiche Collection.
Finding
ICJ Information using Lexis, Westlaw, and the Internet
Search Legal
Resource Index on Lexis (Legal
> Secondary Legal > Annotations & Indexes > Legal Resource
Index) OR Westlaw (LRI)
OR the LegalTrac
Internet database. (Note: This Internet database is only accessible
from computers on campus.)
[This will search a large index of law review, bar journal, and
legal newspaper articles since 1980; Legal Resource Index
and LegalTrac are simply online versions on the print Current
Law Index.]
FCIL Associate Librarian
FCIL Librarian and