foreword

Brief introduction for the participants General introduction: The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.

Situated in The Hague (the Netherlands) it is, as a rule, composed of 15 Judges (including a President and a Vice-President). The Court has two competences: the first is to decide on "Contentious Cases�: Two states (or more) which consent to submit their dispute before the Court for a non-appealable binding Judgment.

The second is to give a non-binding Advisory Opinion on a certain legal question, in the request of the UN General Assembly.

The goals of the icj at teimun are twofold: firstly, we seek to instruct the participants with regard to the way proceedings take place in front of the icj. Namely, we want the participants to have a firm understanding of the procedural rules of the court, such as the types of cases the court hears, the parties to the proceedings, the competence of the court, its legal sources and the effect of its decisions. Secondly and most importantly, we seek that the participants, with the help of legal and factual guidance, take part in a serious debate on the merits of important and relevant issues of international law. These can include issues the court may have addressed in the past as well as issues which are vigorously debated in academia, with anticipation that the court deliver an opinion on.

How are sessions conducted: during the conference we will be conducting a model session of the ICJ. Each participant will be acting as one of the courts' 15 judges. As judges, participants will be asked to rule on numerous legal questions found in the case presented before the court. The judges are to decide impartially and only according to the merits of the written case (on which both contentious states agreed) and different legal sources. Unlike other councils, the judges must decide independently and ignore their countries' foreign policy or agenda on the matter. During the conference, the court staff, which is comprised of a Registrar and two Advocates, will conduct the procedure of the sessions. In addition, before each session on a legal matter, the advocate for each country will present oral arguments on behalf of its country and develop the legal claims found in the written case. At the end of the conference the judges will write together a decision; judges are free to disagree and write a separate or a dissenting opinion that will be attached to it.

Background on the case: The case for this year's ICJ session at TEIMUN describes fictional developments stemming from the long regional conflict in the 'Horn of Africa'. In particular, it details the developments of political and military tensions between Eritrea and Ethiopia. These tensions include a large scale war that has occurred (fabricated) between the states in August 2010 and that revolves around legal issues such as the use of force, laws of war, unlawful weapons, pirates, international responsibility and occupied territory.

In the end of the written case the participants can find initial recommended reading on the legal issues that will be discussed by the court during sessions. We recommend that all participants who wish to learn more, in preparation for the conference, undertake further legal research on each issue.

We look forward to meeting you at the ICJ at TEIMUN 2011, Fadi Antoun, Benjamin Winston and Michal Luft- ICJ chairs, TEIMUN 2011