International Courts & Organisations

1945–46

International Court of Justice

The World Court

The principal judicial organ of the United Nations, the ICJ sits at the Peace Palace in The Hague. It has 15 judges elected for nine-year terms by the UN General Assembly and Security Council voting separately, with an absolute majority needed in both. It decides disputes between states that accept its jurisdiction and gives advisory opinions at the request of UN organs. Its official languages are English and French. Judge Iwasawa Yuji of Japan became its President in March 2025.

• 15 judges; nine-year terms.
• Seat: the Peace Palace, The Hague.
• Official languages: English and French.

1922–1946

Permanent Court of International Justice

The League's court

Created under the League of Nations, the PCIJ was the first permanent international court with general jurisdiction. It decided cases such as the Lotus (1927) and Chorzów Factory (1928), and was succeeded by the ICJ, whose Statute is closely based on the PCIJ's.

1899

Permanent Court of Arbitration

Not a court, not permanent

Created by the Hague Convention of 1899, the Permanent Court of Arbitration is not a court in the usual sense but an organisation that provides a registry and facilities for arbitrations between states, state entities, international organisations and private parties. It sits in the Peace Palace and administered cases such as the South China Sea arbitration (2016), the Enrica Lexie case and the Bay of Bengal boundary.

• Created by the 1899 Hague Convention.
• Oldest institution for international dispute settlement.

2002

International Criminal Court

Trying individuals for the gravest crimes

Established by the Rome Statute (1998), the ICC sits in The Hague and has jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression committed after 1 July 2002. It is a court of last resort under the principle of complementarity: it acts only when national courts are unwilling or unable. India, China and the United States are not parties.

• Principle of complementarity.
• India is not a party.

1996

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

Hamburg

Created by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982), ITLOS sits in Hamburg, Germany, with 21 judges. It settles disputes over the interpretation and application of UNCLOS. In 2024 it gave an advisory opinion that greenhouse gas emissions are marine pollution under UNCLOS.

• Seat: Hamburg.
• 21 judges.