ICC vs ICJ
International Court of Justice(ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) are two institutions that are focused on human rights and humanitarian law. A court is a form of tribunal, often a government institution, wherein everything that goes beyond the law or human law is investigated. The International Criminal Court (ICC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ) are two such courts that need to be compared which are easily confused for one another. Both courts are situated in The Hague, Netherlands and in most cases they are almost the same, however, differing in their jurisdiction.
What is ICC?
International Criminal Court (ICC) is a permanent tribunal that has been created to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. Basically, ICC focuses on the two bodies of international law that deal with the treatment of individuals, the human rights and humanitarian law. There are five situations to date on which ICC had opened investigations: the Northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, Darfur (Sudan) and the Republic of Kenya. ICC has jurisdictions including crimes with the jurisdiction of the court, territorial jurisdiction, temporal jurisdiction and complimentary. ICC is legally and functionally independent from the United Nations (UN).
What is ICJ?
International Court of Justice (ICJ) or the World Court is the primary judicial organ of the UN which settles legal disputes submitted by states. ICJ also gives advisory and opinions on legal questions forwarded by duly authorized international organs, agencies and the UN General Assembly. It has been noted that cases before the ICJ follow a standard procedure in which the case is lodged by the applicant who files a written memorial setting out the basis of the Court’s jurisdiction and the merits of its claim.
What is the difference between ICC and ICJ?
After providing definitions for these two courts, it is now easy to identify where one has to report a case based on one’s location and situation. With the help of these two courts, criminal investigations are made easier and faster. The only difference is the jurisdiction of each court. If the country one belongs to is part of the UN, citizens of that country can go directly to ICJ and if the country in question is not a part of the UN, they are required to go to ICC for further proceedings.
Summary:
• ICC and ICJ are both tribunal courts that accommodate criminal investigations and proceedings.
• ICC and ICJ courts are both located in The Hague, Netherlands.
• International Court of Justice (ICJ) or the World Court is the primary judicial organ of the UN which settles legal disputes submitted by states while ICC is legally and functionally independent from the United Nations (UN).
• If the country one belongs to is part of the UN, the ICJ is directly applicable while if not, one is required to approach the ICC for further proceedings.
• International Criminal Court (ICC) is called to be a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression while ICJ settles legal disputes submitted by states and ICJ also gives advices and opinions on legal questions forwarded by duly authorized international organs, agencies and the UN General Assembly.
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Which court has jurisdiction if one state, say an aggressor, belongs to the United Nations and the second state, the aggressed upon, does not? Does the second state have standing to file through the UN?