Editing International Court of Justice (section)

===Advisory opinions===
[[File:Grand Hall de Justice de Palais de La Paix à La Haye Pays-Bas.jpg|thumb|Audience of the "Accordance with International Law of the [[International Court of Justice advisory opinion on Kosovo's declaration of independence|Unilateral Declaration of Independence]] by the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government of Kosovo"]] An [[advisory opinion]] is a function of the court open only to specified United Nations bodies and agencies. The UN Charter grants the General Assembly or the Security Council the power to request the court to issue an advisory opinion on any legal question. Organs of the UN other than the General Assembly or the Security Council require the General Assembly's authorization to request an advisory opinion of the ICJ. These organs of the UN only request an advisory opinion regarding the matters that fall within the scope of their activities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-xiv/index.html|title=Chapter XIV|publisher=United Nations |work=Charter of the United Nations |language=en|access-date=3 November 2017|archive-date=25 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725083309/http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-xiv/index.html|url-status=dead }}</ref> On receiving a request, the court decides which states and organizations might provide useful information and gives them an opportunity to present written or oral statements. Advisory opinions were intended as a means by which UN agencies could seek the court's help in deciding complex legal issues that might fall under their respective mandates.

In principle, the court's advisory opinions are only consultative in character but they are influential and widely respected. Certain instruments or regulations can provide in advance that the advisory opinion shall be specifically binding on particular agencies or states, but inherently they are non-binding under the Statute of the court. This non-binding character does not mean that advisory opinions are without legal effect, because the legal reasoning embodied in them reflects the court's authoritative views on important issues of international law. In arriving at them, the court follows essentially the same rules and procedures that govern its binding judgments delivered in contentious cases submitted to it by sovereign states.

An advisory opinion derives its status and authority from the fact that it is the official pronouncement of the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.asil.org/insights/volume/8/issue/27/un-general-assembly-requests-world-court-advisory-opinion-israels |title=The UN General Assembly Requests a World Court Advisory Opinion on Israel's Separation Barrier |author=Pieter H.F. Bekker |date=12 December 2003 |publisher=American Society of International Law |access-date=21 November 2017 |archive-date=2 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102143450/https://www.asil.org/insights/volume/8/issue/27/un-general-assembly-requests-world-court-advisory-opinion-israels |url-status=live }}</ref>

Advisory opinions have often been controversial because the questions asked are controversial or the case was pursued as an indirect way of bringing what is really a contentious case before the court. Examples of advisory opinions can be found in the section [[List of International Court of Justice cases#Advisory opinions|advisory opinions]] in the [[List of International Court of Justice cases]] article. One such well-known advisory opinion is the ''[[International Court of Justice advisory opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons|Nuclear Weapons Case]]''.

In December 2024, in the first time, the court begun hearings about [[climate change]]. This is the biggest case in the history of the court: 99 countries and more than 12 intergovernmental organizations will be heard over two weeks.<ref>{{cite news |last1=QUELL |first1=MOLLY |date=3 December 2024 |title=A landmark climate change case opens at the top UN court as island nations fear rising seas |url=https://apnews.com/article/eu-world-court-icj-climate-global-warming-e954301f0258509f67e66ae2762da6f6 |access-date=3 December 2024 |agency=The Associated Press}}</ref> The [[General Assembly of the UN|General Assembly]] requested an advisory opinion addressing two questions: the obligations of States under international law to protect the climate system from anthropogenic emissions for States and for present and future generations, and the legal consequences arising where states, by their acts and omissions, have caused significant harm to the climate system and other parts of the environment.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 April 2023 |title=Request for Advisory Opinion Transmitted to the Court Pursuant to General Assembly Resolution 77/276 of 29 March 2023: Obligations of States in Respect of Climate Change |url=https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/187/187-20230412-app-01-00-en.pdf |website=ICJ-CIJ.org}}</ref>