1. International Court of Justice.
(i) International Court of Justice means the judicial branch of the United Nations. The International Court of Justice is located at The Hague in the Netherlands.
(ii) There are 15 judges in the International Court of Justice.
(iii) They are chosen by the General Assembly and the Security Council. Every judge has tenure of nine years.
(iv) Functions:
To settle the disputes between two or more member nations of the United Nations.
To interpret international law authentically.
To advise the various organs or subsidiary bodies of the United Nations about legal issues.
2. The UN Security Council.
Security Council is one of the 6 main organs of the UN:
(i) There are 15 members in the Security Council. Of them, five are permanent members, while ten are nonpermanent members.
(ii) The non-permanent members are chosen every two years by the General Assembly. America, Russia, England, France and China are permanent members of the Security Council. They have the veto power.
(iii) For any decision to be taken, the assent of all five permanent members and four non permanent members is necessary. If even one of the five permanent member uses his veto i.e. gives a negative vote, the decision cannot be taken.
(iv) Functions of the Security Council:
(a) The main responsibility of the Security Council is to maintain international peace and security.
The Security Council may suggest one among the following alternatives in situations of international conflict:
End/resolve conflict and make efforts to establish peace
Impose economic sanctions or take a decision of military action against the aggressor nation.
(b) To prepare policies for arms control.
(c) To play a joint role along with the General Assembly in the appointments of the judges of the International Court of Justice and of the United Nations Secretary General.
