Advisory Opinion (International Court) - Explained
What is an Advisory Opinion of the ICJ?
Written by J. Mance Gordon
Updated at April 21st, 2024
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What is an Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice?
The advisory opinion is a historically integral part of some state courts (coming out of the Civil War and dating back to the English system), as well as a relatively new part of business law enforcement by the FTC (since 1962). Its use is coming under question given its non-binding nature and higher demand facing state courts from a law explosion and state school finance decisions. At the level of the United Nations, the action is used to help clear doubt or disagreement over politically difficult cases; however, it is rarely used and largely considered dangerous when expanded from international crisis to constitutional interpretations.
What is the Effect of an Advisory Opinion (International Court of Justice) ?
An advisory opinion is an interpretation of Law or subject matter provided to the United Nations or a specialized agency by the International Court of Justice (hereon referred to as the Court) on any legal matter when requested (in accordance with Article 96 of the UN Charter). It is then signed by the Secretary General of the UN (Article 88 of the Rules of the Court).
The Court does not view the authority of an advisory opinion as drastically different from a judgment. The opinion of the Court is expected in principle to clarify doubts or disagreements different organs of international organizations have on points of law and remain unbiased. A judge may add his or her own individual/dissident viewpoint if he desires (Article 90 of the Rules of the Court). It is important to note that most of the time, these opinions are requested for politically motivated reasons. With that in mind, the Court is rarely requested to give an advisory opinion. The request typically comes under very specific circumstances such as when there are great political difficulties in a case that cannot be resolved by the General Assembly or the Security Council of the UN. Because the advisory function is not often called upon, the Court is still considered outside of the regular/organic system of the United Nations.