World Court celebrates 80-year anniversary as the international legal framework is under strain

The United Nations secretary-general warns that international law is eroding

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- The United Nations secretary-general warned on Friday that international law was eroding before the world’s eyes, during a speech celebrating the 80th year anniversary of the World Court.

“The force of law must always prevail over the law of force,” António Guterres told dignitaries gathered in the ornate Great Hall at the International Court of Justice in The Hague.

The celebration at the highest court of the United Nations stood in contrast to the strain on the international legal framework. U.S. President Donald Trump recently threatened to blow up every bridge and power plant in Iran, an action that would be so far-reaching that some experts in military law said it could constitute a war crime. Sudan just entered its fourth year of war between the military and paramilitary forces and Russia continues to attack Ukraine in violation of an order from the ICJ.

“Powerful states have thrown out the rule book and perform disdain for international law,” Janina Dill, an expert in international law at Oxford University, told The Associated Press.

The court is the busiest it has been in its history, grappling with the Gaza conflict, the war in Ukraine and even climate change.

In his address to the ceremony, presiding judge Yuji Iwasawa said the court responds to these challenges simply by carrying out its function of “interpreting and applying international law rigorously and in good faith.”

Set up in the aftermath of World War II, the ICJ adjudicates disputes between countries. Certain U.N. bodies, including the General Assembly, can request advisory opinions from the court’s 15 judges.

All 193 U.N. member states are members of the ICJ, though not all of them automatically recognize its jurisdiction.

When the court held its inaugural session in 1946, it only counted 51 countries as its members. That event was attended by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands. Her grandson, King Willem-Alexander, attended the 80th anniversary celebration on Friday.

A year after the opening, the United Kingdom filed the court’s first case when it brought a complaint against Albania over damage to naval ships on the Corfu Channel.

The judges are currently considering allegations of genocide against Myanmar for the country’s treatment of the Rohingya ethnic minority and against Israel for its military actions in Gaza. Both countries deny the allegations.

Some disputes on the court’s docket predate its existence. Guyana has asked the court to weigh on a border dispute with neighboring Venezuela, a legal battle which has been waged since 1899.

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