What's Wrong with the Relationship between the International Court of Justice and the Security Council?

Abstract

In 1945, the drafters of the United Nations Charter provided that, whenever the UN Security Council needed advice on any legal question, it could always ask the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion. And whenever the Council, when maintaining international peace and security, encountered a typically legal inter-State dispute, it could always refer the States involved to the Court for peaceful settlement of that dispute in accordance with international law. Unfortunately, in the actual practice between 1945 and 2014, the Security Council has not made much use of the Court’s legal services and expertise. Only once did the Council seek the legal counsel of the Court; and only once did it suggest to States involved in a legal dispute to bring their quarrel to the Court. If this Liber Amicorum’s purpose is to unveil what is wrong with international law, then the limited role of the Court – the legal guardian of the UN system and of international law in general – in the Council’s efforts to maintain international peace and security, is certainly an issue worth devoting some time to.