Special thanks to:
Mr. Stelios Perrakis, Emeritus Professor, Ambassador of Greece in the Council of Europe; Mr. Konstantinos Antonopoulos, Associate Professor, Democritus University of Thrace; Mrs. Emmanouela Doussi, Associate Professor, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens; Mr. Miltos Sarigiannidis, Assistant Professor, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and Mr. George Kyriakopoulos, Lecturer, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, for their valuable contribution to the realisation of the International Court of Justice.
Their guidance and assistance during the preparations of the conference, reaffirms the support of the Greek Law Faculties throughout the years to the ideal of simulations and highlights their devotion to the long-standing institution that is ThessISMUN.
Established in 1945 by the Charter of The United Nations, the International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. Contrary to the rest of the United Nations organs, the International Court of Justice is the only one not located in New York since its headquarters are in Hague, Netherlands.
Its functioning is based on the Statute of the International Court of Justice, a text annexed to the UN Charter which is considered to be an integral part of the latter. The Court has a dual role. It can judge a case after the request of a State involved in a dispute and it can also publish an advisory opinion on a topic after the request of a UN organ. Its Jurisdiction applies to all the States that have signed the UN Charter however a non-member state can also take advantage of its jurisdiction using the procedure set in article 93(2) of the Court’s Statute. The crucial aspect when speaking about the jurisdiction of the Court is the following:
The International Court of Justice has jurisdiction only on States and on the basis of consent, with that being said that 2 states must first approve the jurisdiction of the Court so as for the case to be examined before it. The States’ consent is given through a text called “Compromis” which describes the events and the allegations of the parties to the dispute.
According to Article 38 of the ICJ Statute the Court’s applicable law are the international conventions, the international custom, the general principles recognized by the civilized nations and “the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations”.
The Court is composed by 15 judges who are elected to nine-year term. They are chosen by a list of judges nominated by the national groups in the Permanent Court of Arbitration. A State can also select a judge to take part in a case (ad hoc judge) and as a result the maximum number of judges that a chamber can have is 17.
Summing up, the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court of the United Nations is without any doubt the most important judicial arm of the United Nations. Its role on the International arena is growing but there are still steps to be taken, especially concerning the jurisdiction, so as for the Court to become a traditional judicial organ functional enough to ensure justice.
THESSISMUN 2019 – UN International court of justice
BOARD-MEMBERS
President: Despoina Chatzopoulou
Vice-president: Polyxeni Botou
Advocate: Elisavet Papathanasiou
AGENDA
To be announced.