Analysis on Motivation of a State with no Direct Conflict of Interest in an Application in the International Court of Justice

Abstract

Recently, the cases that a state with no direct conflict of interest filed an application to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) have raised intensive discussions among international society. This research focuses on the motivation of these applicant states. Through analyzing 6 cases classified in this sort from various angles, and considering the historical background and political environment of the applicant states, it is found that the motives can be concluded as public interest and applicant states interest. The latter covers the pursuit of diplomatic obligation, global attention, alignment of domestic attitude and implementation of the ideology, and better international environment as well as reputation. These motives have close internal interaction, and are highly influenced by diverse domestic and international situations, which can serve as supports or catalysts of the filing of some applications. This article also discusses the development during these 14 years of all motives, and predicts their application in the near future.