Stories from the UN Archive: Birth of the first global court

ICJ
The ICJ held its inaugural session on 18 April 1946 at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.
  • UN News

Did you know the UN hosts the world’s court of justice? From the pending State-level Ukraine v. Russia case on allegations of genocide to landmark judgments and opinions on everything from climate change to ending colonialism, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rose from the ashes of the Second World War with the founding of the UN.

Did you know the UN hosts the world’s court of justice? From the pending State-level Ukraine v. Russia case on allegations of genocide to landmark judgments and opinions on everything from climate change to ending colonialism, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) rose from the ashes of the Second World War with the founding of the UN.

The UN and its 193 Member States can bring a case within the Court’s jurisdiction and some of its decisions are shaping the planet’s common destiny.

What was the first-ever case at the World Court?

As the Court elects new judges from around the world on this #ThrowbackThursday, UN News is launching a weekly series, courtesy of our history-loving audio-visual colleagues. UN Video’s Stories from the UN Archive gives viewers a front-row seat. From the infamous and nearly-forgotten to world leaders and global superstars, stay tuned for a taste of the UN Archive’s 49,400 hours of video recordings and 18,000 hours of audio chronicling.

Visit UN Video’s Stories from the UN Archive playlist here and join us next Thursday for another dive into history.

UN Photo
The Peace Palace in The Hague, the headquarters of the International Court of Justice as pictured in 1955.

© UN News (2023) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: UN News

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