page_title: International Court of Justice
section_title: Jurisdiction
hierarchical_section_title: International Court of Justice / Jurisdiction
context_page_description: The International Court of Justice, sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. It settles disputes between states in accordance with international law and gives advisory opinions on international legal issues. The ICJ is the only international court that adjudicates general disputes between countries, with its rulings and opinions serving as primary sources of international law.
  The ICJ is the successor of the Permanent Court of International Justice, which was established in 1920 by the League of Nations. Following the Second World War, both the League and the PCIJ were replaced by the United Nations and ICJ, respectively. The Statute of the ICJ, which sets forth its purposes draws heavily from that of its predecessor, whose decisions remain valid. All member states of the UN are party to the ICJ Statute and may initiate contentious cases; however, advisory proceedings may only be submitted by certain UN organs and agencies.
  The ICJ is a panel of 15 judges elected by the General Assembly and Security Council for nine-year terms.
context_section_description: As stated in Article 93 of the UN Charter, all 193 UN members are automatically parties to the court's statute. Non-UN members may also become parties to the court's statute under the Article 93(2) procedure. For example, before becoming a UN member state, Switzerland used this procedure in 1948 to become a party, and Nauru became a party in 1988. Once a state is a party to the court's statute, it is entitled to participate in cases before the court. However, being a party to the statute does not automatically give the court jurisdiction over disputes involving those parties. The issue of jurisdiction is considered in the three types of ICJ cases: contentious issues, incidental jurisdiction, and advisory opinions.
caption:   Parties upon becoming a UN member  Parties prior to joining the UN under Article 93  UN observer states that are not parties