The Role of the ICJ Essay Example

The Role of the ICJ Essay Example The Role of the ICJ Essay The Role of the ICJ Essay The International Court of Justice (also known as the World Court or ICJ) is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. Its main functions are to settle legal disputes submitted to it by member states and to give advisory opinions on legal questions submitted to it by duly authorized international organs, agencies and the UN General Assembly. The ICJ acquires its authority thorough the Article 92, which is part of the UN Charter. This states in accordance with the annexed Statute, which is based upon the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice and forms an integral part of the present Charter. Article 92 UN Charter) This enables the ICJ to function at a level of acceptance and allows equality and justice to flow freely. Although the central court is in Hague (Holland), councils can be held elsewhere, whenever it is deemed acceptable. The ICJ holds the ability to pass judgment on disputes between states and attempt to ratify them. It is open to all states that are in accord with the statute and all those who are in agreement of the conditions that are laid down. Due to the ICJ having nominal enforcement powers, Article 94 of the Charter states that each party of the UN must comply with the decision of the ourt in any case to which it is a party. There are also further provision which include: If any party to a case fails to perform the obligations incumbent upon it under a judgement rendered by the court, the other party may have recourse to the Security Council, which may, if it deem necessary, make recommendations or decide upon measures to be taken to give effect to the judgment. (Article 94 UN Charter). The court is then authorized by other documents Article 65 of the Statute which addresses any legal queries that may be made in accordance with the UN Charter in regards to making a legal request. Another document Article 96 of the Charter provides that opinions may be requested by the General or other members of the UN such as specialized agencies. Because of the ICJs limited powers it holds more of an advisory role. This then causes a stringent need to follow the charter and keep actions short in order to resolve a larger amount of cases before they failure to do so. This would then result in shortcomings and thus create turmoil in regards to its effectiveness in maintaining its goal of World peace. The ICJ was founded in 1946 and since then they have dealt with 41 controversial cases between various states delivering 21 advisory opinions. It has many failures and successes, with an astonishingly high degree of compliance in regards to the verdict that the ICJ makes. There are only two known cases where the states did not comply with the ICJs judgment. These cases were the Corfu Channel Case and the US-Nicaragua. One possible reason for this was the fact that the ICJs compliance is on voluntary basis and therefore States can not seek the ICJs verdict without first accepting the courts verdict beforehand. One example of a successful case was the intervention of the ICJ on the fishing rights in the Fisheries case (1951). The ICJ settled a verdict in favor of Norway as the dispute between them and the United States as there were British fishing vessels within Norwegian waters. Another successful ICJ case was the North Sea Continental Shelf cases (1969). This case involved Denmark, Netherlands and West Germany. This was a successful settlement and was crucial as it open up the facility of oil and gas in the North Sea. More recently the ICJ resolved a boarder clash between Burkina Faso and Mali. (1986). This Frontier Dispute case was ruled in Belgiums favor as the two separate pieces of land that were disturbed by Belgium and Holland where in fact part of Belgium. On the other hand the ICJ is renowned for its failures as well as its successes. These include the inability to resolve inner-state disputes and to date more than 40 unresolved cases have been submitted to the ICJ. Some of the cases have involved parties fulfilling illegal duties and have not accepted the jurisdiction of the court. An example of this is in Israel, Us and the UK (1955) as they all bought down and Israeli civilian aircraft over their territory. Bulgaria rejected ICJ jurisdiction and therefore the ICJ had to let the case go as too much time was already wasted. Another example of the ineffectiveness of the ICJ was in 1960 where Ethiopia and Liberia brought forward a case claiming that South Africa was violating the human rights of the natives that resided in Namibia. After a long period of time and through a tedious process the ICJ finally gave their verdict. They were in favor of the case and ruled it as illegal and thus claimed procedural point. Another limit in effectiveness was the case of the Ruling on the Israeli Security Barrier (Wall) (July 9, 2004). This barrier caused a separation between the West Bank (Judea and Samaria) and the areas inside Israel. The ICJ failed to take down the wall as they felt that it was not violating the principals of international law and as a result the Israeli High Court stated against the ICJ and ruled that specific portions of the barrier had to be moved in order to spare Palestinian Arab residents inordinate suffering. (Israeli High Court). All the above ineffectiveness reflects the initiations of the ICJ in regards to the settlement of various disputes. The actual limited effectiveness cannot be placed upon the court itself as the ICJs objective position has enabled to be as fair as possible. For example: No two ICJ judges may be of the same nationality, but due to human prejudices not all discriminative happenings can be eradicated. In addition another major issue is the fact that more powerful states and their issues with security and peace have rarely been addressed as they are rarely submitted. This is because most governments tend to consider the recognition of the jurisdiction of the court as infringing on their sovereignty. Furthermore the ICJ has often been criticized by the extensive time consumption with nominal results as it may take several years for a case to be heard and acted upon or even reach a final judgment. Hence it is very time consuming to go through the ICJ and often considered a waste of resources and lack of efficiency. Although it cannot be wholly blamed as varied parties involved in the claims often request more time for preparation of their cases. Since it is usually voluntary it really cannot be expected to resolve all cases and definitely not be held accountable for legal actions that follow after it has been settled. Despite the fact that the ICJ has had many failures and successes it still remains a positive diplomat for international law and also a dissemination of the principals of sovereignty, non-conquest, human rights and the rights of existence, self-defense in regards to the state. In addition the ICJ has helped determine certain disputes and difficulties experienced by various states. Most importantly the ICJ provides an alternative for states to reconcile disputes through the use of third party intervention and thus results in more equality as strive for world peace.

Human Rights Violations in North Korea

Human Rights Violations in North Korea After World War II, Japanese-occupied Korea was divided in two: North Korea, a newly Communist government under the supervision of the Soviet Union, and South Korea, under the supervision of the United States. The North Korean Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) was granted independence in 1948  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹and is now one of the few remaining Communist nations. The population of North Korea is approximately 25 million, with an estimated annual per capita income of about US$1,800. The State of Human Rights in North Korea North Korea is in all likelihood the most oppressive regime on Earth. Although human rights monitors are generally banned from the country, as are radio communications between citizens and outsiders, some journalists and human rights monitors have been successful in uncovering details about the secretive governments policies. The government is essentially a dictatorshippreviously operated by Kim Il-sung, then by his son Kim Jong-il, and now by his grandson Kim Jong-un. The Cult of the Supreme Leader Although North Korea is generally described as a Communist government, it could also be characterized as a theocracy. The North Korean government operates 450,000 Revolutionary Research Centers for weekly indoctrination sessions, where attendees are taught that Kim Jong-il was a deity figure whose story began with a miraculous birth atop a legendary Korean mountain (Jong-il was actually born in the former Soviet Union). Kim Jong-un, now known (as his father and grandfather once were) as Dear Leader, is similarly described in these Revolutionary Research Centers as a supreme moral entity with supernatural powers. Loyalty Groups The North Korean government divides its citizens into three castes based on their perceived loyalty to Dear Leader: core (haeksim kyechung), wavering (tongyo kyechung), and hostile (joktae kyechung). Most of the wealth is concentrated among the core, while the hostilea category that includes all members of minority faiths, as well as descendants of perceived enemies of the stateare denied employment and subject to starvation. Enforcing Patriotism The North Korean government enforces loyalty and obedience through its Ministry of Peoples Security, which requires citizens to spy on each another, including family members. Anyone who is overheard saying anything perceived as critical to the government is subject to a reduced loyalty group rating, torture, execution, or imprisonment in one of North Koreas ten brutal concentration camps. Controlling the Flow of Information All radio and television stations, newspapers and magazines, and church sermons are government-controlled and focus on praise of the Dear Leader. Anyone who makes contact with foreigners in any way, or listens to foreign radio stations (some of which are accessible in North Korea), is in danger of any of the penalties described above. Traveling outside of North Korea is also forbidden, and can carry a penalty of death. A Military State Despite its small population and dismal budget, the North Korean government is heavily militarizedclaiming to have an army of 1.3 million soldiers (the fifth-largest in the world), and a thriving military research program that includes the development of nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. North Korea also maintains rows of massive artillery batteries on the North-South Korea border, designed to inflict heavy casualties on Seoul in the event of international conflict. Mass Famine and Global Blackmail During the 1990s, as many as 3.5 million North Koreans died of starvation. Sanctions are not imposed on North Korea primarily because they would block grain donations, resulting in the deaths of millions more, a possibility that does not appear to concern the Dear Leader. Malnutrition is almost universal except among the ruling class; the average North Korean 7-year-old is eight inches shorter than the average South Korean child of the same age. No Rule of Law The North Korean government maintains ten concentration camps, with a total of between 200,000 and 250,000 prisoners contained therein. Conditions in the camps are terrible, and the annual casualty rate has been estimated as high as 25%. The North Korean government has no due process system, imprisoning, torturing, and executing prisoners at will. Public executions, in particular, are a common sight in North Korea. Prognosis: By most accounts, the North Korean human rights situation cannot presently be solved by international action. The U.N. Human Rights Committee has condemned the North Korean human rights record on three different occasions in recent years, to no avail. Strict sanctions are of limited usefulness because the North Korean government has already demonstrated that it is willing to allow millions of its citizens to starve.Military action is not feasible, primarily because the artillery batteries maintained by the North Korean government along the demilitarized zone could literally result in millions of South Korean casualties. North Korean leaders have promised an annihilating strike in the event of U.S. invasion.North Korea maintains a stockpile of chemical weapons, and may also possess biological weapons.North Korea has augmented this threat with nuclear weapons development.North Korean missiles delivering chemical, biological, or nuclear munitions can reach South Korea, can almost certainly reach Japan, and are presently being tested for potential launch against the U.S. west coast.The North Korean government regularly breaks treaties, reducing the value of diplomacy as a human rights strategy. The best hope for North Korean human rights progress is internaland this is not a futile hope. Many North Korean citizens have gained access to foreign media and foreign radio stations, giving them​ a  reason to question national propaganda.Some North Korean citizens are even distributing revolutionary literature with apparent impunityas the governments loyalty enforcement system, fearsome though it is, is too bloated to function efficiently.The death of Kim Jong-il in 2012 has introduced a new generation of leadership, which may respond to international pressure in a more practical way.