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International Court of Justice (ICJ)

Topic 1: Contentious case: Dijibouti v France
Director: Maria Beatriz Campedelli

Blood, politics, illegality, poverty, whimsicality, decadence: this could be the synopsis of a thrilling Agatha Christie novel, one of the finest, but it is not. These are the melancholic elements of a real story and the factual background to the Application submitted to the International Court of Justice by the Republic of Djibouti in 4 January 2006. Djibouti therein maintains that France has no right to summon Djibouti officials due to their diplomatic immunity and that the refusal to execute the international letter rogatory requested by the Republic of Djibouti constitutes a violation of France’s international obligations regarding mutual assistance in criminal matters.
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Topic 2: Validity and effectiveness of the purpose appointed courts and war 
crimes tribunals in prosecuting and charging individuals and/or groups
Director: Nirvana Ma

Since the Nuremberg Trials in 1945, the United Nations has implemented a number of specialised criminal institutions for the purpose of bringing war criminals to justice for atrocities committed against humanity.1 In order to best facilitate the process, each of the courts and tribunals has been adapted to cater to the individual requirements of the situation. Generally, the institutions can be divided in to three categories: purely international, purely domestic, and hybrid. Domestic courts have been used in the Iraqi conflict. Hybrid courts have been used in East Timor, Sierra Leone, and Kosovo. Purely international regimes such as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia established at The Hague, and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, have also been used.
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Download Final Advisory Opinion
This Resolution was passed by the General Assembly

The International Court of Justice, situated in The Hague, is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations and was established by the 1945 UN Charter. The Court is concerned with two responsibilities. Firstly, in accordance with international law, it hears and settles contentious cases (legal disputes) as submitted by sovereign States. Secondly, it gives advise on legal questions (advisory proceedings) as requested by organs of the United Nations or specialised agencies. The jurisdiction of the Court stretches across the globe, although its authority is a contested issue.