Did the Court Leave a Door Open? The Possibility to Review the Legality of Acts of UN Organs by the International Court of Justice – Case-Law and Beyond
Did the Court Leave a Door Open? The Possibility to Review the Legality of Acts of UN Organs by the International Court of Justice – Case-Law and Beyond

Summary/Abstract: The paper explores the possibility of the International Court of Justice to assess the legality of acts of United Nations Organs – especially of the Security Council. The analysis departs form the case-law of the Court and formulates the proposition that the Court allowed, in principle, the possibility of such review if it would fall within the limits of its jurisdiction. These jurisdictional limits are briefly explored based upon the distinction between the advisory jurisdiction and the contentious one, as well as between the direct and incidental jurisdiction. Practice of other courts and tribunals is important in establishing the general idea that legal control of acts of UN organs is possible and necessary, even if in certain cases courts like the European Court of Justice and European Court of Human Rights distinguished, in theory, between the Security Council Resolutions and their implementing acts. Thus, if legal scrutiny proved possible and useful, why should not the International Court of Justice accomplish this task – of course, if it fell within its jurisdiction in a particular case?

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