UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon gave an address on Wednesday marking the 70th anniversary of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) [official websites]. In his remarks [transcript], the secretary-general stated that the ICJ has made an “enormous contribution” to international law. The “World Court” was established [UN News Centre report] by UN Charter [text] in 1945 with a dual role: first, to make a final settlement of legal disputes between states, and second, to give advice on legal questions to UN agencies and members. The secretary-general discussed the increasing effectiveness and importance of the court, stressing that those States who had not accepted the Court’s jurisdiction should do so. ICJ President Ronny Abraham also spoke at the ceremony, stating:

[T]he need for a world court working for international peace and justice is as strong today as it was when the [UN] Charter was first signed. The Court’s judgements on the merits all represent disputes that have been settled, and situations that might otherwise have led to open conflict and that have found a peaceful outcome.

A decade ago, then secretary-general Kofi Annan celebrated [JURIST report] the ICJ’s 60th anniversary. He spoke highly of the ICJ’s increasing ability to settle disputes among the member states and also urged members states “to consider recognizing the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court” and encouraged “states that are not yet prepared to recognize the compulsory jurisdiction to consider submitting their disputes to the Court by Special Agreements.