Legal Value of the Judgment of the International Court of Justice

Abstract

The study of the legal value of the judgments issued by the International Court of Justice aims to determine whether the provisions contained in the Statute of the International Court of Justice and in the United Nations Charter are clear and sufficient to determine the legal value of judgment, or if they need to be amended and clarified to address the ambiguity that arises between the binding force of the judgment itself and the necessary force for implementing its content. This is crucial in indicating the immediacy of the judgment's binding nature upon its issuance and its connection to the legitimacy of the matter decided upon.

The topic raises a primary issue represented by: clarifying the extent of the binding force of the judgment issued by the International Court of Justice, whether it has absolute legitimacy, or its legitimacy is relative? distinguishing between it and the enforceability of the judgment, and who is competent for that? and then identifying the obstacles that may hinder the mechanism of implementation.

With a conclusion that contains a set of results, the most important of which are: the judgment issued by the International Court of Justice immediately acquires the force of a res judicata decided upon its issuance, as it is final and not subject to appeal.

A group of other recommendations, the most important of which are: the urgency of amending the provisions of the United Nations Charter, and amending the Court’s system accordingly to enhance confidence in its judgments and activate the role of the General Assembly in implementing the Court’s rulings.