International Court of Justice and the Recognition of States

Abstract

This chapter looks at the role of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the recognition of states. First, the chapter places in context the role of an important international adjudication mechanism as the Court in interpreting different legal aspects concerning the process of state recognition. It then analyses the following issues: access to the Court for UN non-member states and differences between contentious cases and advisory proceedings; conditions for admission and membership of states in the UN; state recognition and self-determination in the context of decolonisation including collective non-recognition of internationally wrongful acts; and declarations of independence under international law. The chapter demonstrates that the main contributions of the ICJ to the issue of creation and recognition of states consist of legal findings clarifying the criteria for admission to UN membership and the role of the General Assembly and the Security Council therein, the emergence of new states through the process of decolonisation, declarations of independence, and conditions for states’ access to ICJ’s contentious and advisory proceedings.