INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
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Press Release
Unofficial
No. 2022/59
28 October 2022
The President of the International Court of Justice, H.E. Judge Joan E. Donoghue, addresses the General Assembly of the United Nations
THE HAGUE, 28 October 2022. H.E. Judge Joan E. Donoghue, President of the International Court of Justice, yesterday addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations on the occasion of the presentation of the Court’s annual report for the judicial year 2021-2022.
President Donoghue opened her speech by paying tribute, on behalf of the ICJ, to Judge Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade, who passed away on 29 May 2022.
The President then gave an overview of the Court’s judicial activities, noting that the Court’s docket remained full, with 16 contentious cases currently pending before it, “involving States from all four corners of the world and covering a wide range of legal issues, from land and maritime delimitation, to questions regarding international watercourses, to alleged violations of bilateral and multilateral treaties concerning, among other things, the elimination of racial discrimination and the prevention and punishment of genocide”.
President Donoghue informed the General Assembly that the Court had been seised of five new contentious cases since 1 August 2021, the starting date of the period covered by the Report. She added that, since that date, the Court had held hearings in seven cases, delivered four judgments and three orders on the indication of provisional measures, as well as an order on a request for the modification of provisional measures. She also noted that, at the time of her address, there were two cases under deliberation and that, in the two months remaining in this calendar year, the Court would hold hearings in two cases: one set of hearings on the merits and another on preliminary objections.
After giving a brief account of the decisions rendered by the Court during the period under review and summarizing some of the most recent and relevant developments in the cases before it, the President spoke about the procedural mechanism of intervention, which “has recently generated great interest in the context of certain cases pending before the Court”. In that respect, she stated that the Court’s Statute provides for “two different kinds of intervention [under Article 62 and Article 63, respectively], with two specific sets of criteria that govern whether States will be permitted to intervene and with different consequences that result therefrom”. While not addressing any specific case, she summarized some of the basic features of each of these two types of intervention.
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The President also briefed the General Assembly on the progress made with respect to the Trust Fund for the Court’s Judicial Fellowship Programme. She recalled that the creation of the Trust Fund, established by General Assembly resolution 75/129, administered by the Secretary-General and open for contributions by States, international organizations and other entities, “was motivated by a desire to increase the participation of aspiring international lawyers who are nationals of developing countries and who are sponsored by universities located in developing countries”.
The President informed the audience that, “[t]hanks to the generous contributions received to date, . . . the Trust Fund has gotten off to a promising start”, observing that three of the 15 judicial fellows of the 2022-2023 cohort “were nominated by universities located in developing countries and selected to be sponsored by the Trust Fund”. She stressed that “[t]he Court is optimistic that the newly established Trust Fund will expand the opportunities for young lawyers from all regions to gain professional experience in international law through their participation in the work of the Court”.
Finally, President Donoghue touched on the planned renovation of the Court’s seat in The Hague, the Peace Palace, which she described as “a landmark building which has housed the Court and its predecessor, the Permanent Court of International Justice, for over a century”. She referred in particular to the latest developments in the renovation plans, thanking the host country, the Netherlands, for its efforts to explore alternative options. The President emphasized that “any measures envisaged should guarantee a safe working environment for the Court’s judges and staff and ensure the continuity of its judicial [activities]”.
President Donoghue addresses the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN Photo/Loey Felipe)
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The full text of the address by the President of the Court to the United Nations General Assembly, as well as the Court’s Report for the judicial year 2021-2022, is available on the Court’s website.
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Note: The Court’s press releases are prepared by its Registry for information purposes only and do not constitute official documents.
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The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. It was established by the United Nations Charter in June 1945 and began its activities in April 1946. The Court is composed of 15 judges elected for a nine-year term by the General Assembly and the Security Council of the United Nations. The seat of the Court is at the Peace Palace in The Hague (Netherlands). The Court has a twofold role: first, to settle, in accordance with international law, through judgments which have binding force and are without appeal for the parties concerned, legal disputes submitted to it by States; and, second, to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by duly authorized United Nations organs and agencies of the system.
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Information Department:
Mr. Andrey Poskakukhin, First Secretary of the Court, Head of Department (+31 (0)70 302 2336)
Ms Joanne Moore, Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2337)
Mr. Avo Sevag Garabet, Associate Information Officer (+31 (0)70 302 2394)
Ms Genoveva Madurga, Administrative Assistant (+31 (0)70 302 2396)
The President of the International Court of Justice, H.E. Judge Joan E. Donoghue, addresses the General Assembly of the United Nations