Editing International Court of Justice (section)

==Law applied==
{{Main|Sources of international law}}

When deciding cases, the court applies international law as summarized in [[s:Statute of the International Court of Justice#Article 38|Article 38]] of the [[Statute of the International Court of Justice|ICJ Statute]], which provides that in arriving at its decisions the court shall apply international conventions, international custom and the "general principles of law recognized by civilized nations." It may also refer to academic writing ("the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations") and previous judicial decisions to help [[judicial interpretation|interpret the law]] although the court is not formally bound by its previous decisions under the doctrine of ''[[stare decisis]]''. [[s:Statute of the International Court of Justice#Article 59|Article 59]] makes clear that the [[common law]] notion of [[precedent]] or ''[[stare decisis]]'' does not apply to the decisions of the ICJ.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ridi |first1=Niccolò |title=Rule of Precedent and Rules on Precedent |journal=International Procedure in Interstate Litigation and Arbitration |date=30 November 2021 |pages=354–400 |doi=10.1017/9781108961387.017|isbn=9781108961387 |s2cid=225225897 }}</ref> The court's decision binds only the parties to that particular controversy. Under 38(1)(d), however, the court may consider its own previous decisions and frequently cites them.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ridi |first1=Niccolò |title=The Shape and Structure of the 'Usable Past': An Empirical Analysis of the Use of Precedent in International Adjudication |journal=Journal of International Dispute Settlement |date=1 June 2019 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=200–247 |doi=10.1093/jnlids/idz007}}</ref>

If the parties agree, they may also grant the court the liberty to decide ''[[ex aequo et bono]]'' ("out of equality, and for the good"),<ref>Statute of the International Court of Justice, Article 38(2)</ref> granting the ICJ the freedom to make an equitable decision based on what is fair under the circumstances. That provision has not been used in the court's history.{{when|date=January 2022}} So far,{{when|date=January 2022}} the International Court of Justice has dealt with about 180 cases.