Ved P. Nanda Int'l. Appellate Competition

The Sturm College of Law will be holding the Ved P. Nanda International Appellate Competition on Saturday, November 16, 2008, from 8 am to 5 pm. Competitors will simulate representing cases before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Here is a brief description of the ICJ and some library resources related to the ICJ:

The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, is the “principal judicial organ of the United Nations” and is the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ). Established under the Charter of the United Nations in 1945, the Court’s role is to “…settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.” The Court’s official languages are English and French. The Court only has jurisdiction if the states party to the dispute have accepted its jurisdiction under a prescribed set of ways. In order to practice before the Court, counsel or advocates must have been appointed by a government. The Court is located at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.

The ICJ homepage provides quick access to the latest decisions and press releases. Check out the link to Cases in the menu on the left.

When searching for materials in the catalog, be sure to search under both “International Court of Justice” and “World Court.” The library has approximately 100 items on the subject. The official reports of the Court, Recueil des arrêts, avis consultatifs et ordonnances / Cour internationale de justice = Reports of judgments, advisory opinions, and orders / International Court of Justice can be found in print at KZ214 .I58 (level 1). We have all the reports through 2007 with the exception of 2004.* Additionally, other resources include HeinOnline (search journal articles), Westlaw (INT-ICJ), and on Lexis by looking in the International Legal Materials (ILM). ILM is also available through HeinOnline (1962-2004) and in print (1962-2008).

*At the time this article was published, 2005-2007 were still being processed in technical services. We expect them to be on the shelf soon. If you need to see one of these years and it is not on the shelf, please contact the author.

by Joan Policastri, Foreign & International Legal Research Specialist