According to the Court's published information concerning "Chambers and Committees" (2009), "Despite the advantages that chambers can offer in certain cases, under the terms of the Statute their use remains exceptional. Their formation requires the consent of the parties. While, to date, no case has been heard by either of the first two types of chamber, by contrast there have been six cases dealt with by ad hoc chambers."
Given the significant representation by most of the countries of the world in the UN, the UCJ has the capability to provide a valuable forum in which to address disputes that will inevitably occur between nations. According to Schwebel and Prager (1999), the Court has an important role in ensuring the peaceful settlement of a wide range of international disputes pursuant to the fundamental purpose of the United Nations which is "to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace."
In order to achieve this goal, the Court serves as an adjudicator of international disputes that, left unresolved, could result in armed conflict, but more commonly exercises its responsibilities in resolving less drastic disputes between countries. From time to time, the Court's judicial function is also augmented by political approaches to the resolution of international disputes with the parties to the dispute and by various UN entities besides the ICJ; however, the Court is first and foremost "the principal judicial organ of the United Nations."
Not surprisingly, many of the controversies decided by the Court involve the ownership of territory. These decisions are regarded as one of the more important functions of the Court because sovereignty over territory comprises the definition of what constitutes a state in international law and relations.
In this regard, according to Ginsburg and Mcadams, "Even aside from defining borders, much of the jurisdiction of the ICJ involves conventions about property, that is, the extent of a state's physical control over territory on land or sea."
Moreover, the acquisition of additional territories to expand a country's existing borders has been a fundamental objective of most states throughout history; however, in order to enjoy the advantages of such territory, their boundaries must be clearly delineated and recognized by the international community. Given the importance of land, then, together with the fact that "they are not making any more of it," it is not surprising that there are frequently competing claims on territories between nations.
These types of competing claims over territory can be categorized into the following nine groups: treaties, geography, economy, culture, effective control, history, uti possidetis, elitism, and ideology.
Over the years, states have depended on all of the foregoing categories to attempt to substantiate their legal claims to territory in cases that have been brought before the ICJ. According to Sumner, "The most common claims are cast in terms of effective control of the disputed territory, historical right to title, uti possidetis, geography, treaty law, and cultural homogeneity."
One such recent decision handed down by the ICJ concerned the resolution of the disputed Bakassi Peninsula which the Court determined belonged to Cameroon rather than Nigeria. Notwithstanding the overwhelming presence of population loyal to Nigeria by tradition and blood, the decision by the Court was final and binding on both parties because there is no appeal to ICJ's rulings. In this regard, according to Jason (2002), the ICJ based its decisions on provisions of the 1918 Anglo-German Treaty wherein the Bakassi had been ceded to Germany (absent Nigeria's consent, though). While some observers, particularly those in Nigeria, blamed the ICJ for bias against their case, others suggested that the Nigerians themselves were to blame given the indefensible nature of their claim against the existing treaty provisions and the fact that there was no appeal to the Court's decision.
Pursuant to Article 38 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, in those instances where the Court is called upon to decide cases "in accordance with international law," the Court follows these sources of law:
1. International conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states;
2. International custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law;
3. The general principles of law recognized by civilized nations;
4. Subject to the provisions of Article 59, 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; and,
5. In those cases where the parties agree, the court may also decide a case under equity principles, ex-aequo et bono.
In regard to the latter instance, according to Ginsburg and Mcadams, "In the ICJ, unlike in most domestic court processes, states are entitled...
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