The ICN Charter
1. The Purpose of the International Council of Nations is to maintain international peace and security and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace.
2. The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, shall act in accordance with the following Principles:
- The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.
- All Members, in order to ensure to all of them the rights and benefits resulting from membership, shall fulfill in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the present Charter.
- All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
- The Organization shall ensure that states which are not Members of the International Council of Nations act in accordance with these Principles so far as may be necessary for the maintenance of international peace and security.
- Nothing contained in the present Charter shall authorize the International Council of Nations to intervene in matters which are essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any state.
3. Membership in the ICN is open to all other peace-loving states which accept the obligations contained in the present Charter. The admission of any such state to membership in the ICN will be effected by a majority decision of the members.
4. A Member of the ICN which has persistently violated the Principles contained in the present Charter may be expelled from the Organization by a majority decision of the members.
5. The International Court of Justice is an organ of the ICN.
6. Members of the ICN which have or assume responsibilities for the administration of territories whose peoples have not yet attained a full measure of self-government recognize the principle that the interests of the inhabitants of these territories are paramount, and accept as a sacred trust the obligation to promote to the utmost the well-being of the inhabitants of these territories, and, to this end their self-determination.
7. All Members of the ICN are ipso facto parties to the Statute of the International Court of Justice. A state which is not a Member of the ICN may become a party to the Statute of the International Court of Justice on their own intiative.
8. In the event of a conflict between the obligations of the Members of the ICN under the present Charter and their obligations under any other international agreement, their obligations under the present Charter shall prevail.
9. The Organization shall enjoy in the territory of each of its Members such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the fulfilment of its purposes. Representatives of the Members of the ICN and officials of the Organization shall similarly enjoy such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the independent exercise of their functions in connection with the Organization.
10. The present Charter shall be ratified by the signatory states in accordance with their respective constitutional processes.
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Statute of the ICJ
1. The Court shall be composed of a body of independent judges, elected regardless of their nationality from among persons of high moral character, who possess the qualifications required In their respective countries for appointment to the highest judicial offices, or are juris-consults of recognized competence in international law.
2. The Court shall consist of nine members, no three of whom may be nationals of the same state.
3. The members of the Court, when engaged on the business of the Court, shall enjoy diplomatic privileges and immunities.
4. Every member of the Court shall, before taking up his duties, make a solemn declaration in open court that he will exercise his powers impartially and conscientiously.
5. The seat of the Court shall be established at Rotterdam. This however, shall not prevent the Court from sitting and exercising its functions elsewhere whenever the Court considers it desirable.
6. Only states may be parties in cases before the Court. The Court shall be open to the states parties to the present Statute.
7. The jurisdiction of the Court comprises all cases which the parties refer to it and all matters specially provided for in the treaties and conventions in force.
8. The states parties to the present Statute may at any time declare that they recognize as compulsory ipso facto and without special agreement, in relation to any other state accepting the same obligation, the jurisdiction of the Court in all legal disputes concerning:
a. the interpretation of a treaty;
b. any question of international law;
c. the existence of any fact which, if established, would constitute a breach of an international obligation;
d. the nature or extent of the reparation to be made for the breach of an international obligation.
The declarations referred to above may be made unconditionally or on condition of reciprocity on the part of several or certain states, or for a certain time.
9. In the event of a dispute as to whether the Court has jurisdiction, the matter shall be settled by the decision of the Court.
10. The Court, whose function is to decide in accordance with international law such disputes as are submitted to it, shall apply:
a. international conventions, whether general or particular, establishing rules expressly recognized by the contesting states;
b. international custom, as evidence of a general practice accepted as law;
c. the general principles of law recognized in real life;
d. judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists of the various nations, as subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law.
11. The hearing in Court shall be public, unless the Court shall decide otherwise, or unless the parties demand that the public be not admitted.
12. Whenever one of the parties does not appear before the Court, or fails to defend its case, the other party may call upon the Court to decide in favor of its claim. The Court must, before doing so, satisfy itself, not only that it has jurisdiction in accordance with Article 8, but also that the claim is well founded In fact and law.
13. The decision of the Court has no binding force except between the parties and in respect of that particular case.
14. The judgment is final and without appeal. In the event of dispute as to the meaning or scope of the judgment, the Court shall construe it upon the request of any party.
