Abstract
Probably the most worrying fact today about the International Court of Justice has been its comparative non-use to the extent expected of it under the Charter of the United Nations. The reasons for the incidence of fewer and fewer cases being brought before the Court in recent years has engaged the attention of the General Assembly itself within the last two decades. If it is considered that the South West Africa cases (1962–1966)1 have induced in the Member States, particularly the new two-thirds of the Members that have come into the international community since 1945, a feeling of understandable reluctance in coming before the Court, the fact remains that the situation has not shown any improvement despite the somewhat more encouraging judgment in the Namibia case, 1971.2
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References
Preliminary Objections, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1962, p. 319; Second Phase, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1966, p. 6.
Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1971, p. 16.
In the Report of the 1920 Committee of Jurists it is stated that in formulating this Article the Commission “drew its inspiration from the example set by English national legal practice, and the legal practice of the American Supreme Court in inter-State litigation” (Minutes of the 1920 Committee of Jursits, p. 740). See M.O. Hudson, Permanent Court of International Justice: A Treatise, New York, 1943, pp. 203–204.
The Court must… always be satisfied that it has jurisdiction, and must if necessary go into that matter proprio motu“ — Appeal relating to the Jurisdiction of the I. CA. O. Council, I.C.J. Reports 1972, p. 52.
Series A/B, No. 77, pp. 102–103.
Judgment No. 14, 1929. P.C.1.J. Series A, No. 20 (111).
Series A, No. 20, p. 16. In the Wimbledon case (P.C.I.J. 4923, Series A, No. 1, p. 20) no objection was made but the respondent left certain questions of jurisdiction to the appreciation of the Court.
Order of 2 December 1933, P.C.I.J. Series A/B, No. 59, p. 194; Series A/B, No. 52, pp. 15–16.
Series C, No. 68, pp. 262–292.
P.CLJ. 1926, Series D, No. 2 (add.), pp. 101–102.
Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1949, p. 244, at p. 248.
P.CLJ. 1933, Order of 29 July 1933, Series AIB, No. 58, p. 175; Order of 2 December 1933, Series A/B, No. 60, p. 201.
Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1949, p. 244.
Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1952, p. 93.
Preliminary Objections, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1953, p. 111; 2nd Phase, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1955, p. 4.
Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1973, p. 3; Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1974, p. 3.
Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1974, p. 253.
Judgment, LCJ. Reports 1978, p. 3.
Provisional Measures, Order of 15 December 1979, I.C.J. Reports 1979, p. 7.
In certain cases, the applicant State has asked the Court for discontinuance of the proceedings for one reason or another. If there are no compelling reasons why this should not be granted, the Court has always allowed such express discontinuance to take place at the appropriate stage of the proceedings, and in circumstances that would be fair to both parties to the case. This has happened in Denunciation of the Treaty of 2 November 1865 between China and Belgium (Order of 25 May 1929, P.C.I.J. 1929, Series A, No. 18), Polish Agrarian Reform and German Minority (Footnote No. 3, p. 6), Electricity Company of Sofia and Bulgaria (Judgment, 1939, P.CLJ. Series A/B, No. 77, p. 64), and Trial of Pakistani Prisoners of War (Interim Protection Order of 13 July 1973, ICJ. Reports 1973, p. 328; Order of 15 December 1973, I.C.J. Reports 1973, p. 347 ).
See also Electricity Company of Sofia case (Rosenne: The Law and Practice of the International Court, Leiden, 1965, p. 590 ).
See Rosenne, ibid, p. 684.
Order of 12 July 1954, I.C.J. Reports 1954, p. 103.
Order of 14 March 1956, I.C.J. Reports 1956, p. 6.
Order of 16 March 1956, I.C. J. Reports 1956, pp. 12 and 15.
Order of 14 March 1956, I.C.J. Reports 1956, p. 9.
Order of 7 October 1959, I.C.J. Reports 1959, p. 276, Order of 9 December 1959, I.C.J. Reports 1958, p. 158.
Order of 13 July 1973, I.C.J. Reports 1973, p. 347.
Order of 29 July 1954, I.C.J. Reports 1954, p. 107.
Order of 14 March 1956, LGJ. Reports 1956, p. 6.
Order of 14 March 1956, I.C.J. Reports 1956, p. 9.
Order of 29 July 1954, I.C.J. Reports 1954, p. 107.
Order of 30 May 1960, I.C.J. Reports 1960, p. 146.
Order of 7 October 1959, I.C.J. Reports 1959, p. 276.
Order of 9 December 1959, I.C.J. Reports 1959, p. 158.
Order of 13 July 1973, I.C.J. Reports 1973, p. 347.
The ghost of the Status of Eastern Carelia (Advisory Opinion 1923, P.C.I.J. Series B, No. 5) would seem to be still haunting us in this matter of jurisdiction, and this must be so as long as the Consent of States remains the cornerstone of inter-State relations.
Judgment No. 10, 1927, P. C.I.J. Series A, No. 11; Judgment No. 5, 1925, P. C I. J. Series A, No. 5.
Judgment No. 12, 1928, P.C.1.J. Series A, No. 15.
CJ. Reports 1949, p. 244.
Ibid., p. 248.
Ibid., p. 248.
Jurisdiction of the Court, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1973, p. 3.
I.CJ. Reports 1973, at p. 15.
I.C.J. Reports 1973, p. 3, at p. 18.
Merits, Judgment, LC.J. Reports 1974, p. 3, at p. 9.
Merits, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1974, p. 9.
Idem, p. 9 (para. 17).
Idem, p. 10.
Judgment of 20 December 1974, I.C.J. Reports 1974, p. 253.
Ibid, p. 259.
Ibid.
Ibid, p. 260.
Ibid., p. 261.
I.C.J. Reports 1974, p. 262.
I.C.J. Reports 1974, p. 263.
Ibid, p. 271.
Ibid.
Ibid, at pp. 271–272.
Judgment, LC.J: Reports 1978, p. 3.
I.GJ. Reports 1978,p. 12.
Ibid., p. 13.
Ibid., p. 17.
I.C.J. Reports 1957, p. 25.
Mavromatis Palestine Concessions, P. C.I.J. Series A, No. 2, p. 34.
I.C.J. Reports 1978, p. 18.
Ibid., p. 20.
Provisional Measures, Order of 15 December 1979, I.C.J. Reports 1979, p. 7; Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1980, p. 5.
Provisional Measures, I.C.S. Reports 1979, p. 15.
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Elias, T.O. (1983). The International Court of Justice and the non-appearing respondent. In: The International Court of Justice and some contemporary problems. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-4865-0_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-4865-0_3
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