exact statement of the questions, accompanied by all documents likely to shed light upon them. *From this point on, the procedure before the court is somewhat analogous to contentious cases. In its role as and advisory body, the court has given some important opinions with regard to the costs of peacekeeping, which could be reckoned as normal expenses. It also gave opinions concerning admissions into the UN. Because of the ICJ's limited powers, its strict need to adhere to its charter and its impotency of action unless approached we must consider its ability to resolve cases brought before it successfully, its failures to do so when approached and its shortcomings, in accessing its effectiveness, keeping in mind its role in maintaining World peace. Since its founding in 1946, the ICJ has dealt with 41 contentious cases between states and has also delivered 21 advisory opinions. It has a mixed record of successes and failures, with a surprisingly high degree of compliance with the verdict of the ICJ. (Only two cases involving the Corfu Channel Case and the US-Nicaragua case did the countries refuse to comply with the ICJ judgement.) One reason for this compliance is the use of the ICJ on a voluntary basis. Hence States would not seek the ICJ's verdict without having first accepted the court's verdict in advance, be it in their favour of not, as a matter of obligation. An example of a successful case where the ICJ is effective is in territorial waters and fishing rights in the "Fisheries" case (1951). In it, the ICJ verdict in favour of Norway settled a long-standing Dispute between the United States and Norway involving British fishing vessels operating inside Norwegian claimed waters. Another success of the ICJ were the "North Sea Continental Shelf" cases (1969) involving Denmark, the Netherlands, and West Germany. This successful settlement was crucial to the drilling of oil and gas i...
