The International Court of Justice: Its Role in the Maintenance of International Peace and Security

The framers of the Charter of the United Nations, like those of the Covenant of the League of Nations, have provided for an agency whose principal function is to apply legal techniques in the resolution of international controversies and problems. This agency is the International Court of Justice, which is described in the Charter as one of "the principal organs" and as "the principal judicial organ" of the United Nations (Article 7 (1) and Article 92). With minor modifications, the organization and powers of the International Court of Justice are similar to those of the Permanent Court of International Justice in the League of Nations system, and its Statute, which forms an integral part of the Charter, is expressly based on the Statute of the old Court.¹

The reputation of the Permanent Court of International Justice, unlike that of the League of Nations, had not been damaged by the failure of collective security in the interwar period. It had developed a tradition and a prestige by which the new Court was to benefit. However, since many of the enemy and neutral states continued to be parties to the old Statute, it was found technically easier to accomplish the necessary changes by the adoption of a new Statute and the creation of a new Court.

The members of the new Court were elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council in February 1946, and met for the first time in April. At the same time, the

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