Foundation of the International Court of Justice

The International Court of Justice is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands. Its main functions are to settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and to give advisory opinions on legal questions by duly authorised international organs, agencies, and the UN General Assembly. The Court's workload is characterised by a wide range of judicial activity. The International Court of Justice has dealt with relatively few cases in its history, but there has clearly been an increased willingness to use the Court since the 1980s, especially among developing countries.