The International Court of Justice is the main judicial organ of the United Nations. It's based in the Peace Palace in The Hague Netherlands. Its main function is to settle disputes submitted to it by states.
The ICJ has dealt with relatively few cases in its history. However, the court is being used more and more, especially among developing countries.
The ICJ is composed of fifteen elected judges. They keep their positions for nine years and maybe re-elected for two further terms. Decisions are made by majority votes and if votes are divided equally, the President's vote is decisive.
Ad hoc judges may also sit in court for contentious cases. This system allows all parties to nominate a judge of their choosing. Consequently, up to seventeen judges may sit on one case. These judges can offer local knowledge and an understanding of the state's perspective.
Generally, the Court sits as a full bench, but occasionally judges listen to cases in chambers of 3 or 5 judges. These chambers convene more regularly than the full bench. Judgments of chambers may have less authority than the full Court judgments, but the use of chambers helps to encourage greater recourse to the Court.
8. Read this excerpt from a law blog and mark the following statements as true (T) or false (F).
1. The ICJ only hears cases involving developing countries.
2. There are fifteen elected judges on the ICJ.
3. Cases are always heard by the full bench of judges.
9. Read the sentence and choose the correct word.
1. The judges (convene / nominate) in their chambers to discuss cases.
2. The ICJ wants a higher level of (recourse / perspective) to the international courts.
3. The diplomat was cased to be a(n) (contentious / ad hoc) judge for the ICJ.
4. The votes were even until Mary cast the (decisive / elected) vote.
5. The president served two (votes / terms).
6. Look at the issue from someone else's (perspective / chamber).
10. Fill in the blanks with the correct word/phrase from the word bank.
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1. The judge spoke to the attorney in her _____________.
2. This is a very __________ issue; everyone has differing opinions.
3. Jackson Healey won the city council election by 374 ____________.
4. Richard __________ his colleague to be department manager.
5. Ms. Lowry needs to ____________ the forms by Friday at the latest.
6. ___________ have a poorer standard of living than industrialized countries.
7. Grace Diamant was ____________ mayor last November.
11. Listen to a government employee talking to a judge.
a) Choose the correct answer.
1. Why does the government worker approach the judge?
A) To ask him to run for election for the ICJ
B) To ask him to judge a national case
C) To ask him to sit on the ICJ on an ad hoc basis
D) To ask him to judge a case in her favor
2. What is NOT true about the case?
A) the judge's decision will be decisive
B) it concerns the pollution of rivers
C) the judge will be able to vote
D) the court will convene in several months
b) Listen again and complete the conversation.
Employee: I'm assuming you know that our government has 1) __________ a case to
the International Court of Justice. It regards the pollution of our rivers by the countries upstream.
Judge: Yes, I was aware of that.
Employee: We wondered if you would sit on the 2) ___________ during the proceedings.
Judge: Me? I thought judges had to be 3) ___________.
Employee: The system allows us to nominate our own judge, on an 4) ___________ __________ basis.
Judge: Really? Is that always the case?
Employee: It is in 5) ____________ cases such as ours. It allows us to present our own perspective to the court.
Judge: And will I also have the chance to 6) ___________?
Glossary Unit 3
recourse - обращение за помощью к суду, к каким-л. мерам
convene - созывать; собираться
chamber - коллегия судей
perspective - перспектива
nominate - предлагать кандидата (на выборах)
contentious - дискуссионный, спорный
ad hoc - специальный, устроенный для данной цели, для данного случая
decisive - решающий
vote - голосовать
term - срок (полномочий)
elect - выбирать
developing countries - развивающиеся страны
submit - представлять на рассмотрение
agenda – программа, повестка дня
recognize – признавать
incorporate – соединять, объединять, включать в состав чего-либо
grievance – жалоба
contravene – преступать, нарушать, вступать в противоречие
aggrieved party – пострадавшая сторона
issue – спорный вопрос, предмет спора или тяжбы
Unit 4. THE SYSTEM OF COURTS OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION