International Court Of Justice: The Charter Of The United Nations

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The Charter of the United Nations is the foundational treaty of the United Nations and a vital constitutional text of the International Court of Justice (ICJ). As stated in Article 38 in the Statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) the sources of International law comprise International conventions, international custom and the general principals of law recognized by civilized nations. These first three sources are subject to the provisions of article 59 whereby “judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law”(United Nations 1945).

Prior to the First World War it was widely contested that a sovereign state could not be …show more content…

By attempting to place legal restrictions on nations ability to use force the LN saw the beginning of international law increasingly restrict the freedom of states. Despite being considered a failure, the LN demonstrated that a prohibition on war was legally and politically possible and laid the foundations for the UN and ICJ in later years.

Post World War II the United Nations took the position that was held prior by the League of Nations with the aim of maintaining peace, security and to prevent another catastrophic war. Along with the dissolution of the League of Nations the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ) also was replaced. Therefore the International Court of Justice (ICJ) took its place alongside the Charter of the United Nations. The reasoning was that of starting a new. As there was feeling of ill representation amongst states within the previous LN and PCIJ framework.

The new court, still in place today is more inclusive of states outside of Europe. Thus in its youngest years the UN and ICJ was considered as simply a tool of US diplomacy (Archer 2001, p.69). Yet as a shift in global politics took place this US orientated political lean would not

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