The International Court of Justice, ECOSOC, the Trusteeship Council and the Secretariat

1. The International Court of Justice: status

The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the UN (Charter, Article 92). It functions under its Statute, which is annexed to and forms an integral part of the Charter. It succeeded the Permanent Court of International Justice (1922–1946), set up under Article 14 of the League Covenant. It sits at the Peace Palace in The Hague. All UN Members are ipso facto parties to the Statute (Article 93(1)); a non-member may become a party on conditions set by the General Assembly on the Security Council's recommendation (Article 93(2)), as Switzerland did before joining the UN.

2. Composition

• Fifteen judges, no two of whom may be nationals of the same State (Statute, Article 3).
• Qualifications (Article 2): independent judges, elected regardless of nationality from persons of high moral character who possess the qualifications for the highest judicial offices in their countries or are jurisconsults of recognised competence in international law.
• Nomination by the national groups in the Permanent Court of Arbitration (Article 4), not by governments.
• Election: the General Assembly and the Security Council vote independently, and a candidate needs an absolute majority in both (Articles 8 and 10). The permanent members have no veto in this election. The electors must bear in mind that the Court as a whole should represent the main forms of civilisation and the principal legal systems of the world (Article 9).
• Term: nine years, with re-election allowed; one-third of the Court is elected every three years (Article 13).
• Independence: no political or administrative function, no other occupation of a professional nature (Article 16); diplomatic privileges and immunities (Article 19); dismissal only by unanimous opinion of the other members (Article 18).
• President and Vice-President elected by the Court for three years (Article 21).
• Judges ad hoc (Article 31): a party without a judge of its nationality on the Bench may choose a person to sit as judge in that case.
• Chambers (Articles 26 to 29), such as the chamber for summary procedure.
• Quorum of nine (Article 25(3)); decisions by majority of judges present, with the President's casting vote in a tie (Article 55).

Indian judges who have served: Sir Benegal Narsing Rau (1952–1953), Nagendra Singh (1973–1988, President 1985–1988), R.S. Pathak (1989–1991) and Dalveer Bhandari (from 2012, re-elected in 2017).

3. Contentious jurisdiction

Only States may be parties in cases before the Court (Article 34(1)). Jurisdiction rests on consent, which may be given in four ways.

• (a) Special agreement (compromis): the parties refer a particular dispute by agreement (Article 36(1), “all cases which the parties refer to it”). Example: North Sea Continental Shelf (1969); Gabčíkovo-Nagymaros (1997).
• (b) Treaty or convention in force (compromissory clause): “all matters specially provided for in the Charter or in treaties and conventions in force” (Article 36(1)). Example: Article IX of the Genocide Convention (Bosnian Genocide, 2007); the Optional Protocol to the VCCR, under which India brought Jadhav (2019).
• (c) Optional clause (compulsory jurisdiction, Article 36(2)): States may declare that they recognise as compulsory ipso facto and without special agreement, in relation to any other State accepting the same obligation, the jurisdiction of the Court in all legal disputes concerning (a) the interpretation of a treaty; (b) any question of international law; (c) the existence of any fact which, if established, would constitute a breach of an international obligation; and (d) the nature or extent of reparation. Declarations may be unconditional or on condition of reciprocity, or for a certain time (Article 36(3)), and are often subject to reservations. India's declaration excludes, among other things, disputes with Commonwealth States; on that basis the Court declined jurisdiction in Aerial Incident of 10 August 1999 (Pakistan v. India), 2000. The Connally reservation of the US (excluding matters domestic as determined by the US itself) was criticised as self-judging.
• (d) Forum prorogatum: consent given after the proceedings have begun, expressly or by conduct, as when the respondent State argues the merits without objecting (Corfu Channel, preliminary objection, 1948).

Compétence de la compétence: in the event of a dispute as to whether the Court has jurisdiction, the matter is settled by the decision of the Court (Article 36(6)).

Applicable law: Article 38 (see the note on sources).

Provisional measures (Article 41): binding, as held in LaGrand (Germany v. USA), 2001. India obtained provisional measures staying Jadhav's execution in May 2017.

Effect of judgments. Binding only between the parties and in respect of that case (Article 59); final and without appeal (Article 60); revision only on discovery of a decisive new fact within ten years (Article 61). Each Member undertakes to comply with the Court's decision in any case to which it is a party; if a party fails, the other may have recourse to the Security Council, which may make recommendations or decide on measures (Charter, Article 94).

4. Advisory jurisdiction

The General Assembly or the Security Council may request an advisory opinion on any legal question; other organs and specialised agencies authorised by the Assembly may request opinions on legal questions arising within the scope of their activities (Charter, Article 96). The Court may give an advisory opinion on any legal question at the request of whatever body may be so authorised (Statute, Article 65(1)). States cannot request opinions.

Opinions are not binding, unless an instrument provides otherwise, but they carry great authority. The Court has discretion to decline but has said it should refuse only for compelling reasons. Major opinions: Reparation for Injuries (1949); Reservations to the Genocide Convention (1951); Certain Expenses (1962); Namibia (1971); Western Sahara (1975); Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons (1996); the Wall (2004); Kosovo (2010), holding that the declaration of independence did not violate international law; Chagos (2019); and Obligations of States in respect of Climate Change (2025).

5. The Economic and Social Council

• Composition: 54 members elected by the General Assembly for three-year terms, eighteen each year; retiring members are eligible for immediate re-election (Article 61). Originally 18, enlarged to 27 (1965) and 54 (1973).
• Functions (Article 62): studies and reports on economic, social, cultural, educational, health and related matters; recommendations for promoting respect for human rights; preparing draft conventions for the Assembly; calling international conferences.
• Specialised agencies: it enters into agreements bringing them into relationship with the UN, subject to Assembly approval, and co-ordinates their activities (Articles 63 and 64).
• NGOs: arrangements for consultation with non-governmental organisations (Article 71).
• Commissions (Article 68): functional commissions such as the Commission on the Status of Women; the former Commission on Human Rights was replaced by the Human Rights Council, a subsidiary of the Assembly, in 2006.
• Voting: one vote each, simple majority (Article 67).

6. The Trusteeship Council

Chapters XII and XIII established the international trusteeship system for territories held under League mandates, territories detached from enemy States in the Second World War, and territories voluntarily placed under it (Article 77). Its basic objectives included the progressive development of the inhabitants towards self-government or independence (Article 76). The Council consisted of the members administering trust territories, the permanent members of the Security Council not administering any, and enough elected members to balance the two (Article 86). It considered reports, accepted petitions and made periodic visits (Article 87). With the independence of Palau, the last trust territory, the Council suspended operation on 1 November 1994; it now meets only as and when required.

7. The Secretariat

• The Secretariat comprises a Secretary-General and such staff as the Organisation requires. The Secretary-General is appointed by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council and is the chief administrative officer (Article 97). By practice the term is five years. The present Secretary-General's term (António Guterres) runs to 31 December 2026.
• He acts in that capacity in all meetings of the Assembly and the Councils and makes an annual report (Article 98).
• Political power: he may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten international peace and security (Article 99). António Guterres invoked it on Gaza in December 2023.
• Independence: he and the staff shall not seek or receive instructions from any government or authority external to the UN, and Members undertake to respect their exclusively international character (Article 100).
• Staff: appointed by the Secretary-General under Assembly regulations, the paramount consideration being the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity, with due regard to wide geographical recruitment (Article 101).
• The Secretariat registers and publishes treaties (Article 102).

How this is examined

For the ICJ essay: status (Articles 92 and 93), composition with the election procedure and term, then contentious jurisdiction under (a) to (d), Article 36(6), provisional measures, effect of judgments and Article 94, and advisory jurisdiction with a list of opinions. A six-mark note on the ICJ compresses the same into composition, the two jurisdictions, and Article 94. Notes on ECOSOC and the Secretariat should give the composition Article and the functions Articles listed above.