ICJ Procedure in Practice

Case Management

ICJ proceedings are notoriously slow. From filing to judgment, a case typically takes three to five years, and some have taken much longer. The written phase alone can last 18 months or more as states prepare extensive memorials with hundreds of pages of legal argument and documentary evidence. The Court sets deadlines in consultation with the parties but frequently extends them.

The Registry, headed by the Registrar, manages the administrative side of proceedings. It serves as the Court's secretariat, handling communications with parties, organizing hearings, and publishing documents. The President of the Court plays a key role in case management, consulting with agents of the parties on procedural matters.

Deliberation and Judgment

After oral hearings close, the judges deliberate in private. The President prepares a draft judgment, which is circulated and discussed. Each judge may propose amendments. The final text is adopted by majority vote, with each judge having one vote. The President has a casting vote in the event of a tie. Judgments are read in public and are immediately binding.

The judgment includes the Court's findings of fact, legal reasoning, and operative clauses (the dispositif) that state what the Court decides. Individual judges may append separate or dissenting opinions, and declarations stating their position briefly. The reasoning in the judgment becomes part of the corpus of international law and is cited in subsequent cases.

Anatomy of an ICJ Proceeding

Each judge casts one vote, and the President holds a casting vote in the event of a tie. This proved decisive in the 1966 South West Africa cases, where President Percy Spender's casting vote rejected the applicants' claims after the bench split 7-7.