The International Court of Justice

Description

The International Court of Justice (in French, the Cour internationale de justice), also commonly known as the World Court or ICJ, is the oldest, most important and most famous judicial arm of the United Nations. Established by the United Nations Charter in 1945 and based in the Peace Palace in the Hague, the primary function of the Court is to adjudicate in disputes brought before it by states, and to provide authoritative, influential advisory opinions on matters referred to it by various international organisations, agencies and the UN General Assembly. This new work, by a leading academic authority on international law who also appears as an advocate before the Court, examines the Statute of the Court, its procedures, conventions and practices, in a way that will provide invaluable assistance to all international lawyers. The book covers matters such as: the composition of the Court and elections, the office and role of ad hoc judges, the significance of the occasional use of smaller Chambers, jurisdiction, the law applied, preliminary objections, the range of contentious disputes which may be submitted to the Court, the status of advisory opinions, relationship to the Security Council, applications to intervene, the status of judgments and remedies. Referring to a wealth of primary and secondary sources, this work provides international lawyers with a readable, comprehensive and authoritative work of reference which will greatly enhance understanding and knowledge of the ICJ. The book has been translated and lightly updated from the French original, R Kolb, La Cour international de Justice (Paris, Pedone, 2013), by Alan Perry, Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Winner of the 2014 American Society of International Law Certificate of Merit for High Technical Craftsmanship and Utility to Practicing Lawyers and Scholars: 'Robert Kolb's International Court of Justice provides a magisterial, lucid study of its subject. The breadth and depth of the treatment are impressive: Kolb takes the reader from the history of the Court, to its role in international society, to the more technical questions concerning its composition, powers and procedures, to the development of its jurisprudence, and to its future. The finely grained discussion provides much more than a mere survey of the Court's constitutive instruments and decisions. It engages the Court as an institution and asks how it actually operates, and secures efficacy and authority in doing so. The book's careful and detailed coverage of the Court's legal framework and operation will benefit practitioners and scholars alike. There is no doubt that Kolb's volume immediately takes a place among the authoritative references on the Court.' ASIL Book Awards Committee

Robert Kolb is Professor of Public International Law at the University of Geneva. He worked as legal adviser at the International Committee of the Red Cross from 1998 to 1999, and has worked occasionally for the International Law Directorate of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the Section on the Law of Armed Conflicts of the Swiss Army. He is also Counsel for Lalive Attorneys-at-Law, Geneva.

Mr. Kolb's monograph is best described as the 'must have' manual for practitioners dealing with the International Court of Justice due to its comprehensiveness and depth of study. It is extremely well researched and supported by numerous references to court cases. -- Vincent Roobaert * NATO Legal Gazette, Issue 34 * ...an important and exhaustive contribution on the functioning of this principal organ of the United Nations. -- Ricardo Mendez-Silva * The Mexican Yearbook of International Law * This thoroughly researched and well-written book guides the reader through the complexities of the ICJ...The book is divided into twelve chapters of remarkable scope and depth of treatment... is a real pleasure to read, it is excellent and extremely informative -- Chiara Giorgetti * The American Journal of International Law *