The Statute of the International Court of Justice is an integral part of the

United Nations Charter The Charter of the United Nations (UN) is the foundational treaty of the UN, an intergovernmental organization. It establishes the purposes, governing structure, and overall framework of the UN system, including its six principal organs: the ...

, as specified by Chapter XIV of the United Nations Charter, which established the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...

Structure

The Statute is divided into 5 chapters and consists of 70 articles. The Statute begins with Article 1 proclaiming: The 69 Articles are grouped in 5 Chapters: *Chapter I: Organization of the Court (Articles 2 - 33) *Chapter II: Competence of the Court (Articles 34 - 38) *Chapter III: Procedure (Articles 39 - 64) *Chapter IV: Advisory Opinions (Articles 65 - 68) *Chapter V: Amendment (Articles 69 & 70) Under Article 38.2, the court is allowed to decide a case

ex aequo et bono ''Ex aequo et bono'' (Latin for "according to the right and good" or "from equity and conscience") is a Latin phrase that is used as a legal term of art. In the context of arbitration, it refers to the power of arbitrators to dispense with conside ...

if the parties agree thereto.

Parties to the Statute

All UN member states are parties to the Statute by virtue of their ratification of the UN Charter. Under Article 93(2) of the UN Charter, states which are not a member of the UN may become a party to the Statute, subject to the recommendation of the

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

and approval of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

. As of 2015, neither the UN General Assembly non-member observer states, namely the State of Palestine and the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

, nor any other states are parties to the statute under these provisions. Switzerland (1948-2002),

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

(1950-1990),

San Marino San Marino (, ), officially the Republic of San Marino ( it, Repubblica di San Marino; ), also known as the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( it, Serenissima Repubblica di San Marino, links=no), is the fifth-smallest country in the world an ...

(1954-1992), Japan (1954-1956), and Nauru (1988-1999) were all parties to the Statute prior to becoming UN member states.Searc
here
for "Art 93" to find a series of documents that list every non-UN member that became a party to the ICJ Statute.

References

External links

Statute of the International Court of Justice

on the ''Statute of the International Court of Justice'' in th

Divisions and sections of the Charter of the United Nations {{UN-stub