The ICJ, a body to settle disputes between states
The court was established in June 1945 and started work officially on April 18, 1946 at the Peace Palace in The Hague, site of the old Permanent Court of International Justice, which had functioned since 1922. The court's anniversary was being celebrated Wednesday so as not to clash with the Easter holidays.
Only the members of the United Nations can bring a case before the court, whose judgments are final and without appeal.
The court can also be called upon by the General Assembly and the other UN agencies and organizations to give an advisory opinion.
In a recent example of such an advisory opinion, the court said in July 2004 that parts of the Israeli barrier built on Palestinian land were illegal and should be torn down.
The court has so far delivered 92 judgments in inter-state disputes. It has handed down 25 legal opinions, which are constraining only if the states concerned agree to consider them as such.
The court comprises 15 judges appointed for nine-year terms by the UN General Assembly and the Security Council.
The judges are not appointed on the basis of their nationality although the court does not allow more than one national of the same state. The ICJ's president is Britain's Rosalyn Higgins. Together with the permanent judges states involved in a dispute before the ICJ can appoint an ad hoc judge for that specific case.
The court accommodates both the inquisitorial system of justice of continental Europe and the common-law tradition of Britain and the United States. Cases are heard in two official languages, English and French.
The ICJ is housed in the imposing Peace Palace built between 1907 and 1913 that mixes Romanesque and Byzantine styles. The woodwork, stained-glass windows, mosaics, tapestries and objets d'art inside have all been donated by states that participated in the two peace conferences in The Hague in 1899 and 1907.