The United Nations (Beginner's Guides) by MacQueen Norrie

Author:MacQueen, Norrie [MacQueen, Norrie]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
ISBN: 9781780741802
Publisher: Oneworld Publications (trade)
Published: 2012-10-31T00:00:00+00:00

THE POWER OF THE ICJ (UN CHARTER ARTICLE 94)

1. Each Member of the United Nations undertakes to comply with the decision of the International Court of Justice in any case to which it is a party.

2. If any party to a case fails to perform the obligations incumbent upon it under a judgment rendered by the Court, the other party may have recourse to the Security Council, which may, if it deems necessary, make recommendations or decide upon measures to be taken to give effect to the judgment.

Nevertheless, the fact that pronouncements of the Court do not have to be complied with by states unless they themselves submit to its jurisdiction is frequently brought in evidence of the emptiness of international law. And, it is certainly true that some high profile cases can confirm an impression that the big powers simply ignore the Court when it suits them. Currently, in fact, only Britain among the permanent members of the Security Council accepts compulsory jurisdiction. The casebook of the Court is not lacking in disputes where the big powers have simply disregarded its findings. A landmark opinion given by the Court in 1962 confirmed that peacekeeping, despite its lack of clear legal definition, was a regular activity of the United Nations and therefore subject to compulsory financial assessments. This did not suit Soviet policy towards peacekeeping – and it came at a critical time in the midst of the politically fraught Congo operation – so it was simply rejected by the Soviet Union. The result was long term problems for the management and financing of peacekeeping operations. Later, during the ‘second’ Cold War in 1984, the left-wing Sandinista government of Nicaragua took the United States to the ICJ over American mining of its harbours. The Court’s judgement in favour of Nicaragua, far from bringing American compliance, led the Reagan administration to withdraw the United States from compulsory jurisdiction. Later, when the matter was transferred to the Security Council under article 94 of the Charter, the United States used its veto to block any further action.

Yet for all this superpower disdain, the great majority of the Court’s judgements – on matters from frontier disputes in Latin America and North Africa to the disputed interpretation of treaties – are complied with. Despite the obvious shortcomings of its enforcement powers, the ICJ has made a solid contribution to the stability of international relations.

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