World Court Digest

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III.	The International Court of Justice
1.	FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
1.4.	Political Questions/ Determination of the Existence of a Dispute

¤ Land and Maritime Boundary between Cameroon and Nigeria
(Cameroon v. Nigeria),
Provisional Measures,
Order of 15 March 1996
I.C.J. Reports 1996, p. 13

[pp. 36-37 S.O. Ajibola] 3. While it is clear that Article 33 of the United Nations Charter provides for various machinery to effect peaceful resolution of disputes, it is my humble belief that the Court should concern itself solely with a purely "legal" order and refrain from orders with diplomatic or political content or matters concerning mediation or negotiation, since strictly speaking these issues are apparently outside the legal assignment of the Court.
While it is true that the Court is one of the main organs of the United Nations and is, in fact, its principal judicial organ, matters involving political and diplomatic decisions are better left with the Security Council, the General Assembly, and the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Court, should singularly concern itself with legal and Judicial matters. This statement is not without my understanding and recognition that in matters of peace and security all these organs are not uncomplementary and that the role of the Court is not mutually exclusive. I still hold, however, that in the present case before it, the Court should restrict itself to the application of the law under Article 41 of the Statute of the Court and Articles 73, 74 and 75 of its Rules.

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