Editing International Court of Justice (section)

==Criticisms==
The International Court has been criticized with respect to its rulings, its procedures, and its authority. As with [[criticisms of the United Nations]], many critics and opponents of the court refer to the general authority assigned to the body by member states through its Charter, rather than to specific problems with the composition of judges or their rulings. Major criticisms include the following:<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ogbodo|first1=S. Gozie|title=An Overview of the Challenges Facing the International Court of Justice in the 21st Century|journal=Annual Survey of International & Comparative Law|date=2012|volume=18|issue=1|pages=93–113|url=http://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/annlsurvey/vol18/iss1/7|access-date=6 June 2016|archive-date=2 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102143452/https://digitalcommons.law.ggu.edu/annlsurvey/vol18/iss1/7/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Suh|first1=Il Ro|title=Voting Behavior of National Judges in International Courts|journal=The American Journal of International Law|date=April 1969|volume=63|issue=2|pages=224–236|doi=10.2307/2197412|jstor=2197412|s2cid=147317419}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=William|first1=Samore|title=National Origins v. Impartial Decisions: A Study of World Court Holdings|journal=Chicago-Kent Law Review|date=1956|volume=34|issue=3|pages=193–222|url=http://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview/vol34/iss3/1|access-date=6 June 2016|issn=0009-3599|archive-date=11 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011002429/http://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/cklawreview/vol34/iss3/1/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* "Compulsory" jurisdiction is limited to cases where both parties have agreed to submit to its decision, and so instances of aggression tend to be automatically escalated to and adjudicated by the [[United Nations Security Council|Security Council]]. ICJ rulings are legally binding on states but not enforceable without their approval or compliance.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Der Matossian |first=Bedross |date=2023-08-01 |title=Impunity, Lack of Humanitarian Intervention, and International Apathy: The Blockade of the Lachin Corridor in Historical Perspective |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/gsi-2023-0008 |journal=Genocide Studies International |volume=15 |issue=1 |pages=7–20 |doi=10.3138/gsi-2023-0008 |s2cid=261011186 |issn=2291-1847 |quote=Even though the ICJ ruling is legally binding, any judgments by the ICJ cannot be enforced on a country without the approval of the state.|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lawal |first=Shola |title=How will South Africa's ICJ case against Israel work? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/10/south-africas-genocide-case-against-israel-how-will-the-icj-decide |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en |archive-date=13 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513184833/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/10/south-africas-genocide-case-against-israel-how-will-the-icj-decide |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The International Court does not enjoy a full [[separation of powers]], with permanent members of the Security Council being able to veto enforcement of cases, even those to which they consented to be bound.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,871831,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101008084733/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,871831,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 October 2010 |title=World Court: Completing the Circle |magazine=Time |date=28 November 1960 |access-date=4 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Lawal |first=Shola |title=How will South Africa's ICJ case against Israel work? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/10/south-africas-genocide-case-against-israel-how-will-the-icj-decide |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en |quote=ICJ judges ought to be impartial and not act as extensions of their countries. In the past though, judges have voted in line with their countries' politics. In 2022, when the bench voted in favour of the decision to order Russia out of Ukraine, judges from Russia and China were the only two who voted against the decision. |archive-date=13 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240513184833/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/10/south-africas-genocide-case-against-israel-how-will-the-icj-decide |url-status=live }}</ref> Because the jurisdiction does not have binding force itself, in many cases, the instances of aggression are adjudicated by Security Council by adopting a resolution, etc. There is, therefore, a likelihood for the permanent member states of Security Council to avoid the legal responsibility brought up by International Court of Justice, as shown in the example of ''[[Nicaragua v. United States]]''.<ref>David Tuyishime, [http://e-journaloflaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Critical-Analysis-on-the-Ineffectiveness-of-the-ICJ-in-the-Settlement-of-Disputes-between-States-The-Example-of-Nicaragua-Case.pdf Critical Analysis on the Ineffectiveness of the ICJ in the Settlement of Disputes between States: The Example of Nicaragua Case], {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420222408/http://e-journaloflaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Critical-Analysis-on-the-Ineffectiveness-of-the-ICJ-in-the-Settlement-of-Disputes-between-States-The-Example-of-Nicaragua-Case.pdf |date=20 April 2018 }}, E-Journal of Law, Vol 3 (1) 2017.</ref>
* The court has been accused of [[Judicial restraint|judicial parsimony]], with its rulings tending to dismiss submissions of parties on jurisdictional grounds and not resolving the underlying dispute between them.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1093/bybil/brt003 |doi-access=free|title=A Reluctant Guardian: The International Court of Justice and the Concept of 'International Community'|year=2013|last1=Hernandez|first1=G. I.|journal=British Yearbook of International Law|volume=83|pages=13–60}}</ref>
* The court has been accused of exhibiting a political bias, with past research finding "strong evidence" that judges at the ICJ "favour the state that appoints them", "favour states whose wealth level is close to that of the judges' own state", and "favour states whose political system is similar to that of the judges' own state."<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Posner |first1=Eric A. |last2=de Figueiredo |first2=Miguel |date=30 August 2004 |title=Is the International Court of Justice Politically Biased? |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/35j504rg |publisher=International Legal Studies Program, [[University of California]], eScholarship ([[California Digital Library]]}  |location=[[Berkeley, California]] |language=en |access-date=7 June 2024 |archive-date=24 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240524140807/https://escholarship.org/uc/item/35j504rg |url-status=live }}</ref>