advisory opinion

In international law, the International Court of Justice may give an advisory opinion on any legal question at the request of the UN General Assembly, the Security Council or other authorised organs and agencies. Such opinions are not binding, but they carry great authority, as in the Nuclear Weapons (1996) and Chagos (2019) opinions.

In Indian constitutional law, the President may refer a question of law or fact of public importance to the Supreme Court under Article 143. The court may, for good reason, decline to answer. The opinion is not a judgment between parties, but courts treat it as having great weight. A well-known example is the Kerala Education Bill reference (1958).

Example

The President's reference under Article 143 led to an advisory opinion on minority educational institutions in the Kerala Education Bill case.

In Indian law

• Article 65, Statute of the International Court of Justice; Article 96, UN Charter
• Article 143, Constitution of India
• In re the Kerala Education Bill, 1957, 1958 INSC 64

See also

International Court of Justice · jurisdiction

Read more in the study notes

• The Governor (Constitutional Law II)
• The Supreme Court and the High Courts (Constitutional Law II)
• Climate change and biodiversity treaties, the Biological Diversity Act and transboundary pollution (Environmental Law)
• The European system: the Convention and the European Court of Human Rights (Human Rights Law and Practice)
• The Inter-American system: Commission and Court (Human Rights Law and Practice)
• State Human Rights Commissions, Human Rights Courts and NGOs (Human Rights Law and Practice)