Article 93, paragraph 2, of the Charter of the United Nations provides that States which are not members of the United Nations may become parties to the Statute of the Court on conditions to be determined in each case by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.
Switzerland (as from 28 July 1948), Liechtenstein (as from 29 March 1950), San Marino (as from 18 February 1954), Japan (as from 2 April 1954) and Nauru (as from 29 January 1988) fell into this category before joining the United Nations.
The conditions imposed have hitherto been the same in each case. They were laid down for the first time in Resolution 91(I) adopted by the General Assembly on 11 December 1946 as a result of a request by the Swiss Federal Council (see Basic Documents on this website).
Two other General Assembly resolutions govern, on the one hand, the conditions under which States that are not members of the United Nations but are parties to the Statute may participate in the election of Members of the Court (Resolution 264 (III) adopted by the General Assembly on 8 October 1948) and, on the other hand, the participation of such States in the procedure for amending the Statute of the Court (Resolution 2520 (XXIV) adopted by the General Assembly on 4 December 1969, see Basic Documents on this website).