Disputes Under Consideration by the U.N. Security Council or Regional Bodies (From International Court of Justice at a Crossroads, P 242-263, 1987, Lori Fisler Damrosch, ed. -- See NCJ-122854)

• NCJ Number: 122864
• Author(s): D E Acevedo
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 22 pages
• Sale Source: Transnational Publisher Inc
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This analysis of the role of the International Court of Justice in adjudicating disputes that are also under consideration by the United Nations Security Council or regional bodies like the Organization of American States concludes that the circumstances of the dispute rather than the fact that another body is considering it should determine whether the Court adjudicates it.

Abstract

Thus, subject matter of the Cuban missile crisis of 1962 would have been nonjusticiable even if the Soviet Union had accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court. However, in the recent case involving Nicaragua and the United States, the Court did not accept the United States argument that the subject matter of the case was essentially one for the Security Council. Instead, the Court's pronouncement regarding the admissibility of Nicaragua's case makes it clear that the Court generally takes a broad view of what constitutes a judiciable dispute. Thus, a country that wants to prevent the Court from adjudicating cases involving armed conflicts should include these conflicts as exceptions to their declarations accepting the Court's compulsory jurisdiction. However, exceptions based solely on the view that the Security Council has primary jurisdiction are both undesirable and, in many cases, unworkable. 70 footnotes.