CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The need to institutionalize a World Court that would respond to the needs of the international community was conceived pursuant to the atmosphere created by the Hague Conferences of 1897 and 1907. Thus, prior to the establishment of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, no real step was actually taken in that direction until after the First World War.
It is noteworthy to mention that a lot of challenges are facing the global community arising from the settlement of international disputes.One of the serious challenges is the non-compliance with and non-enforcement of the decisions of the International Court of Justice which is often referred to as the “World Court”. This problem without doubt can threaten and has repeatedly threatened the existence of international dispute settling mechanisms, world peace and indeed the security of all nations of the world.The International Court of Justice (ICJ) was established in 1945 by the United Nations Charter and as the new court, it took over from the Permanent Court of International Justice (P.C.I.J.). The organization and structure of the ICJ and its statutes remain virtually the same with the P.C.I.J.[1]Thus, the essence of establishing the ICJ is for the purpose of judicial settlement of disputes arising from inter-states relationships. Deriving from this principal function of the Court, the study seeks to conduct an assessment of the effectiveness of the Court by virtue of evaluation of post-judgment conditions of the Court’s pronouncements. The essence of this study therefore, is to uncover the reasons behind any perceived weaknesses of the Court and to make recommendations for its improvement and strengthening.
The Covenant of League of Nations made moves for the formation of a World Court and in 1920 the P.C.I.J. was formed. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) replaced P.C.I.J. after the Second World War and Article 92 of the United Nations Charter described it as the “Principal Judicial Organ of the United Nations”.[2]Upon failure to comply with the judgement of the ICJ, the United Nations Charter authorize the United Nations Security Council to enforce the judgments of the World Court but findings have shown that, the power of enforcement is subject to the veto power of the five (5) permanent and paramount members in the Security Council.[3]
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Recent events show that the issue of International Court of Justice as it concerns the effect of its judgments and effectiveness of its pronouncements is giving most writers and scholars, serious concerns.Notwithstanding the concerns, none of the states or individuals hasmade efforts to see that the judgments of the said court are effective by amending the United Nations Charter to reflect separation of power which will give real “judicial independence” to the International Court of Justice because, as it stands, the Security Council with the veto power of the five permanent members can decide whether the judgment of the International Court of Justice should be executed or not. They can also decide to overrule the judgment of the International Court of Justice, without any consequence.
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CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF THE JUDGMENT ENFORCEMENT MECHANISM OF THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE
