UN System Documentation

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the UN. 

• International Court of Justice website
• Established through the adoption of the UN Charter and Statute of the ICJ in 1945;
• Current status available from the UN Treaty Collection;
• Located in The Hague, The Netherlands;
• Successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice;
• Reports to the General Assembly 
  • Supplement 4 to the General Assembly Official Records (GAOR)
  • A/session/4
  • example: A/72/4

The Court has two functions:

• To settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted by States, and
• To give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized UN organs and specialized agencies.

The Court sits in the Peace Palace, along with other institutions concerned with international law, including the Peace Palace Library. The Peace Palace Library is not a UN body.  It provides excellent research guides on a variety of international law topics.