Judicial settlement involves the reference of disputes to permanent tribunals for a legally binding decision. It developed from arbitration, which accounts for the close similarity between the two, and in various forms is now available through a number of courts of general or specialised jurisdiction. Examples of the latter will be considered when we examine the Law of the Sea Convention in a later chapter, but the advantages and limitations of tribunals of specialised jurisdiction will be more readily appreciated if we first consider the International Court.

The term ‘International Court’ embraces two courts, the Permanent Court of International Justice, set up as part of the 1919 peace settlement, and its successor the International Court of Justice (ICJ), founded in 1945 as the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Interest in both Courts has generated a literature of high quality, dealing with all aspects of their activity in considerable detail. The focus of this chapter will be on features of the organisation and procedure of the Court with a particular bearing on its role in the settlement of disputes.

Contentious jurisdiction

The Court's powers to decide disputes are defined in its Statute and are known as its contentious jurisdiction. According to the Statute only states may be parties to contentious proceedings and the Court's authority in such cases depends on the consent of the states concerned.