Peace Palace Research Articles

Law, politics and the international court

Situated in the Peace Palace in The Hague, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) remains little known. In its 50 years, only an average of about two cases have been heard annually by the Court. Many of these proceedings have concerned minor issues, such as border parcels and air incidents. Some cases have addressed important interests or essential legal questions. But rarely have decisive judgments put international relations into a new light. The Court faithfully reflects a chaotic and heterogeneous international society. This has created a kind of “settlement justice” that deals more in compromise than in conformity with the Rule of Law. In 1986, the Court did decisively condemn the U.S. for sponsoring “contra” attacks on Nicaragua. But more frequently, procedural or jurisdictional questions have impeded the Court, preventing it from making judgments that would more precisely define the legal foundations of competing claims in international relations.

The 1996 Judicial Activity of the International Court of Justice

This Note summarizes the judicial work of the International Court of Justice during 1996, using the updated General List, pleadings filed, Orders and Judgments given and hearings held at the Peace Palace in The Hague to describe the Court’s current record.During the calendar year 1996, the Court was seized of one new contentious case: Kasikili/Sedudu Island (Botswana/Namibia). In 1996 a total of eleven cases appeared on the General List. Besides the new case referred to, the contentious proceedings before the full Court were Aerial Incident of 3 July 1988 (Iran v. United States), Maritime Delimitation and Territorial Questions between Qatar and Bahrain, Questions of Interpretation and Application of the 1971 Montreal Convention Arising from the Aerial Incident at Lockerbie (Libya v. United Kingdom) and (Libya v. United States), Oil Platforms (Iran v. United States), Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Yugoslavia), Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros Project (Hungary/Slovakia), Fisheries Jurisdiction (Spain v. Canada), and Land and Maritime Boundary (Cameroon v. Nigeria). Advisory proceedings were concluded in Legality of the Use by a State of Nuclear Weapons in Armed Conflict (request for an advisory opinion by the World Health Organization) and Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons (request for an advisory opinion by the General Assembly of the United Nations).

The Hague Academy of International Law - Peace Palace, Carnegieplein 2, 2517 KJ The Hague (Netherlands) - http://www.pi.net/ interlaw/home.html

The Hague Academy of International Law – Peace Palace, Carnegieplein 2, 2517 KJ The Hague (Netherlands) – http://www.pi.net/~interlaw/home.html Uniform Law Review, Volume 2, Issue 1, January 1997, Pages 100–101, https://doi.org/10.1093/ulr/2.1.100 Published: 01 January 1997

The 1995 Judicial Activity of the International Court of Justice

This Note briefly analyzes the judicial work of the International Court of Justice from November 1994 until December 1995,’ deriving the Court’s current record from the updated General List, pleadings filed, orders and judgments given, and hearings held at the Peace Palace.

The International Court of Justice after Fifty Years

The International Court of Justice was brought into being by the Charter of the United Nations (Articles 7(1), 36(3), and 92-96), and by the Statute of the Court which was made an integral part of the Charter; both of which instruments were signed at San Francisco on June 26, 1945. The most important difference between the Statute of the new Court and that of its predecessor, the Permanent Court of International Justice, on which the new Statute was based, was that the new Court was to be one of the “principal organs” of the United Nations. The Charter and the new Statute entered into force on October 24, 1945. After the election of the Court’s first members the new Court met for the first time in the Peace Palace at The Hague on April 1, 1946, under the presidency of Judge Guerrero, with Judge Basdevant as Vice-President.

The Hague Conference and Dutch Choice of Law: Some Criticism and a Suggestion

For one hundred years, the Netherlands has been the host country of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. The Dutchman Tobias Asser—attorney, Professor of law at the University of Amsterdam, diplomat, and an indefatigable proponent of international legal cooperation—was not only one of its founders, but also chairman of the first four conferences in 1893,1894,1900 and 1904. He was succeeded by B.C.J. Loder, a former member of the Dutch Hoge Raad (Supreme Court), who was chairman in 1925 and 1928. Since then, all of Asser's successors have been prominent Dutch conflicts scholars: J. Offerhaus, L.I. de Winter and J.C. Schultsz. In this light, it would be surprising if the conventions created by the Hague Conference had no impact on the development of Dutch private international law, or, conversely, if Dutch conflicts theory had not influenced the debates in the Peace Palace.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Peace Palace, The Hague — A New Role for International Commercial Arbitration?

Recently, Bert Voskuil involved the Asser Institute and, in particular, its Department of International Commercial Arbitration in his keen interest in exploring ways and means of improving the functioning of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (‘PCA’) and of making it more attractive to parties to disputes. One cannot but approve this initiative as it is regrettable that the PCA is under-utilized whilst it has every potential in it to be a prominent forum for international arbitration.

The peace palace heats up: The world court in business again?

The peace palace heats up: The world court in business again?

The Case of the Expropriated Toxin Business: Beleriand versus Hithlum

April 9, 1O, and 11 the Fifteenth Telders International Law Moot Court Competition will take place. For this Anniversary twelve European countries will be sending teams to the Peace Palace in The Hague. The case put before the teams this year, entitled ‘the Case of the Expropriated Toxin Business’, combines topics of general international law such as arbitration and state responsibility with legal problems concerning transnational corporations. Furthermore, production of toxin materials, investment and expropriation are important aspects of the case. The case involves three countries and an international group of companies (a transnational corporation or TNC) which has been engaged in unlawful activities.

International Environmental Law Conference, held in the Peace Palace, The Hague, The Netherlands, during 12–16 August 1991

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The Peace Palace Heats Up: The World Court in Business Again?

The Peace Palace Heats Up: The World Court in Business Again?

Editorial Note

The 14th Telders International Law Moot Court Competition was held again in the Peace Palace in The Hague from April 4–6,1991. The Leiden Journal of International Law includes the cases put before the teams in her issues, and gives as follow-up the excerpts from the best memorials.

Conference on Internatonal Environmental Law, held in the Peace Palace, The Hague, The Netherlands, during 12–16 August 1991

Conference on Internatonal Environmental Law, held in the Peace Palace, The Hague, The Netherlands, during 12–16 August 1991

Editorial Note

In April of this year the 12th Telders International Law Moot Court Competition was held in the Peace Palace in the Hague. Teams from twelve European countries debated the issues concerning the “Right to Insurgency Case”, which was included in the last issue of the Leiden Journal of International Law. The winner of the 1989 Competition was the Team from the University of Leiden, the Netherlands. In the final round they took on the team from Germany, in the Great Hall of Justice at the Peace Palace, in front of Judge Jose Maria Ruda, Judge Manfred Lachs and Judge Sir Robert Jennings.

A Non-Aligned Crusade for International Law?

From 26 to 29 June the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries convened at the premisses of the Peace Palace in The Hague to discuss the issue of peace and the rule of law in international affairs. This meeting was the start of a campaign for aDecade of International Law. This was the first occasion that an extraordinary ministerial conference of the Non-Aligned Movement was not held in one of its member countries. The Hague was chosen to underline the historic ties between this city and the (early) development of international law. This year it will be 90 years ago that the First Hague Peace Conference was held on the initiative of Emperor Nicholas II of Russia. This conference (together with the Second Hague Peace Conference of 1907) became a landmark in the history of the codification of international law and especially the development of mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of international disputes between states. The two most important conventions that were adopted at that conference were the Convention with Respect to the Law and Customs of War on Land and the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes.

The rights in conflict case; Charnia versus Tourisan

Editorial NoteThe first Telders International Law Moot Court Competition was organized in 1977 on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the Telders International Law Students Debating Society. Students from the Universities of Bonn, Cologne, Leiden and Strasbourg participated. The competition took place in the Peace Palace at The Hague and was an overwhelming success. Since then the competition has been held annually. Participation has expanded from three teams in 1977 to thirteen teams now. The eleventh session has been held in the Peace Palace from 14–16 April 1988. The case for the Telders International Law Moot Court Competition was written by Prof. Dinah Shelton.

International Workshop on the Future of International Environmental Law, held at the Peace Palace, International Court of Justice, The Hague, Netherlands, 12–14 November 1984

International Workshop on the Future of International Environmental Law, held at the Peace Palace, International Court of Justice, The Hague, Netherlands, 12–14 November 1984

Colloquium on the Resolution of Disputes on New Natural Resources, held in the Peace Palace, The Hague, Netherlands, during 8–10 November 1982

Colloquium on the Resolution of Disputes on New Natural Resources, held in the Peace Palace, The Hague, Netherlands, during 8–10 November 1982

Nuclear Tests Case: International Court of Justice, The Hague

Abstract Public Sitting continuing on 22, 23 and 25 May, 1973, at the Peace Palace in the Nuclear Tests Case (Request for the Indication of Provisional Measures of Protection). (Australia v. France.)

Nuclear Test Case: International Court of Justice, the Hague, Year 1973: Public sitting held on Monday, 21 May, 1973, at 3 p.m., at the Peace Palace, President Lachs presiding, in the Nuclear Tests Case (Request for the Indication of Provisional Measures of Protection). (Australia v. France)

Nuclear Test Case: International Court of Justice, the Hague, Year 1973: Public sitting held on Monday, 21 May, 1973, at 3 p.m., at the Peace Palace, President Lachs presiding, in the Nuclear Tests Case (Request for the Indication of Provisional Measures of Protection). (Australia v. France)