Judicial Review of United Nations Actions through International Court Of Justice A Road Less Travelled

Abstract

newline In the modern era, the operations and functioning of the United Nations reaches every nook and corner of the world. The United Nations has strived and continues to strive for progress and well-being of humanity. The United Nations needs to transmute itself in line with present geo-political realities to keep its relevance and improve its effectiveness in every sphere. The General Assembly of United Nations needs to be strengthened, the Security Council is required to be renewed and the Economic and Social Council needs to be reinvigorated. The International Court of Justice has become the focus of attention. As the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, it has been bestowed with the responsibility of keeping a possible check on unbridled Security Council s power granted under the United Nations Charter. It is regarded as a link in order to restore some kind of balance among the international community and the United Nations. There is some amount of uncertainty associated about the legal basis for this notion. newlineThe question arises that whether the International Court of Justice possess the sufficient power to keep a proper checks and balances on the other organs of the United Nations and its specialized agencies and instrumentalities, because it is the accepted principle among international community that, the Court does not have the competence to review the validity of actions of other organs. No such power is granted in favor of the International Court of Justice under the United Nations Charter and the jurisdictions bestowed upon the Court are also not bound parties to submit their disputes to this apex Judicial body at international level.