Southville International School and Colleges

Model United Nations Club

Delegate’s Guide to MUN Simulations on the

International Court of Justice
For the sole use of the SISC MUN Club, its 2020 Summer Workshop on the topic of Advanced
Committees, and other ICJ related participation of any registered SISC MUN Club member.

7/2/2020
SISC MUN Secretariat AY2019-2020
Authored by Mr. Lester Joseph D. Buitizon, former Secretary General;Noted by Ms. Park Ye Eun,
incumbent Secretary-General and Sir Jude Russel Cuntapay,
Director-General
Table of Contents
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................................................................1

Introduction to the ICJ .................................................................................................................................................................2

Members and their functions in ICJ ....................................................................................................................................3

President ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Vice President ................................................................................................................................................................................. 3

Rapporteur ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Judges .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Advocates .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 4

The Prosecution or the Plaintiff ............................................................................................................................... 4

The Defense or the Respondent ............................................................................................................................... 4

Decorum ................................................................................................................................................................................................5
Evidence ................................................................................................................................................................................................5
Witnesses .............................................................................................................................................................................................5
Stipulations ....................................................................................................................................................... 6
Objections ............................................................................................................................................................................................6
Awards and Pointing System...................................................................................................................................................7
Rules of Procedure .........................................................................................................................................................................8
References ........................................................................................................................................................................................10

Delegate’s Guide to MUN Simulations on the International Court of Justice Page 1

Introduction to the ICJ
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations
(UN). It was established in June 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work
in April 1946.

The Court’s role is to settle,

in accordance with
international law, legal
disputes submitted to it by
States and to give advisory
opinions on legal questions
referred to it by authorized
United Nations organs and
specialized agencies
1 Maritime Dispute (Peru v. Chile) - Delivery of the Court's Judgment

The Court is composed of

15 judges, who are elected
for terms of office of nine
years by the United
Nations General Assembly
and the Security Council. It
is assisted by a Registry, its
administrative organ. Its
official languages are
English and French.1

2 The Peace Palace, Hague, Netherlands

1
https://www.icj-cij.org/en/court

Delegate’s Guide to MUN Simulations on the International Court of Justice Page 2

Members and their functions in court

1. President
The ICJ equivalent of the GA’s Chairperson
The President serves as the main presider of
the court hearing. He or she has the authority
to provide speaking time for any delegate,
entertain objections, and declare the court
into order and to declare it adjourned. Above
all, the President’s duty is to maintain the
parliamentary order of the court and to
overrule any biases within a judge’s
statements or decisions.

Equally with the other judges in the court, the

3 His Excellency, Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf,
President is entitled to one vote. President of the ICJ

2. Vice President
The ICJ equivalent of the GA’s Co-Chairperson
The Vice President serves as the main assistant of the President and performs or
aids in the duties of the President whenever necessary. The Vice President is also
entitled to one vote.

3. The Rapporteur
The ICJ equivalent of the GA’s Page
The Rapporteur oversees the handling of documents needed during the trial such as
submitted evidence and stipulations. He or she is also assigned to swear in the
members of the court, including witnesses before testimonies, during trial.

The oath is done with arms raised and repeated after the Rapporteur reads:

"I… Solemnly swear (declare) that I will perform my duties and exercise my
powers as member of the Court (or witness of the Court) honorably, faithfully,
impartially and conscientiously”

Being a judge like the presidents, the rapporteur is also entitled to one vote.

Delegate’s Guide to MUN Simulations on the International Court of Justice Page 3

 4. Judges
Judges serve as unbiased and honorable upholders of international law. Each judge
is entitled to one vote each which determines whether a Respondent is guilty or not
guilty. In order to determine whether which decision is just, Judges are also able to
ask direct questions to advocates and witnesses, as well as calling out objections
against other judges or advocates when questions towards witnesses breach
objectivity.

After Advocates are given their last chance to make speeches and are lead out of the
court room, judges are expected to debate in unmoderated or moderated caucus
format, depending on the chair’s discretion, about their findings on the case. During
this time, judges are expected to use their votes and speaking privileges to decide
the final verdict of the case, with justification for the decision. This verdict will then
be read by either the President or a Judge unanimously elected by the court.

5. Advocates
Advocates are the main
parties involved in the case
and are tasked to prove
and justify each of their
own stances concerning
the case through witnesses
and evidences.

Advocate parties are

divided into two groups of
a specified amount of
members depending on the
chair: 4 Myanmar's advocate Aung San Suu Kyi addresses judges of the
International Court of Justice in The Hague concerning the Rohingya
Crisis, Netherlands, December 11, 2019.

a. The Prosecution or the Plaintiff is the party of advocates who presents their
case in court against an opposition.

b. The Defense or the Respondent is the party of advocates who will have to
defend against the Prosecution’s claims.

Delegate’s Guide to MUN Simulations on the International Court of Justice Page 4

Decorum
 Maintaining a diplomatic tone is important in the ICJ, although it is expected that
some discussions between judges or advocates become heated;
 No one is to speak unless they are recognized by the presidents or wish to raise a
Point of Clarification, Grievance, or an Objection; Note passing is in order;
 Everyone except the presidents is expected to stand when speaking;
 Points of Information are not used in the ICJ;
 Advocates, witnesses, and judges are allowed and expected to use first person
speech;
 Judges are expected to be addressed as “your honor” and respected by advocates
especially when they are in the middle of questioning;

Evidence
Presenting evidence is one of the most important tools of advocates to prove their stances.
Both advocate parties are given the chance to present their own sets of evidence. Evidence
can range from written documents, new articles, or videos.

When presenting evidence during trial sessions, advocates are expected to state its origins,
author, and date published to uphold its credibility or accuracy as evidence. Advocates are
also expected to explain how the evidence at hand can help their case, while judges are
expected to ask questions regarding the evidence presented. There is no limit to the
amount of evidence presented but usually the president would impose a one hour limit for
each advocate party to present.

Witnesses
Each part of advocates is entitled to at most three witnesses or depending on chair’s
discretion. Witnesses usually are delegates from other committees in the conference who
are excused for some moments from their committees to take the role of anyone the
advocate wishes to testify for them. The roles of that these delegates will take, however,
must be approved by the president beforehand. When choosing witnesses, their position,
credibility, and knowledge must be considered. It is completely possible for witnesses to
incriminate their own advocates as much as they can make a case

Witnesses are able to testify for a certain amount of time but are usually more important
for the questioning portion. Direct examination is the term used when advocates question
their own witness. Cross-examination is when the opposite party questions the witness.
After these examinations, the judges are also given time to question the witnesses.

Delegate’s Guide to MUN Simulations on the International Court of Justice Page 5

Stipulations
Stipulations are a set of relevant facts that both parties of advocates accept as fact (for
example: Al-Qaeda is a terrorist organization, the capital of Israel is Jerusalem) and
therefore cannot be disputed during the trial, but can however, be used as reference. It is
submitted to the president before the trial begins as a type-written document, usually
containing at least five stipulations. Stipulations are read by the president to the court after
the opening speeches of the advocates.

Objections
Similar to fallacies in parliamentary debates, objections are points that can be made by
advocates or judges during the examination of witnesses or presentation of evidence when
the question being asked or evidence being presented are a blatant violation to the rules of
evidence or testimonies. The president has the final say when an objection is raised and
decides the course of action the court takes. Examples of common objections that can be
used are2:

 Ambiguous, confusing, misleading, vague, and unintelligible: the question is not

clear or precise enough for the witness to properly answer it.
 Argumentative: when the question involves an argument rather than a definite
answer.
 Asked and Answered: when the same attorney continues to ask the same question
despite receiving an answer.
 Assumes facts not in evidence: when the question assumes something as true for
which no evidence has been shown.
 Badgering: when the counsel antagonize the witness or annoy him to provoke a
response, either by asking questions without giving the witness an opportunity to
answer or by openly mocking the witness.
 Calls for a conclusion: when the question asks for an opinion rather than facts.
 Calls for speculation: when the question asks the witness to guess the answer
rather than to rely on known facts.
 Compound question: when multiple questions are asked together.
 Hearsay: when the witness does not know the answer personally but heard it from
someone.
 Incompetent: when the witness is not qualified to answer the question.
 Narrative: when the question asks the witness to relate a story rather than state
specific facts. This objection is not always proper even when a question invites a

2
https://basicknowledge101.com/pdf/km/List%20of%20objections.pdf

Delegate’s Guide to MUN Simulations on the International Court of Justice Page 6

 narrative response, as the circumstances of the case may require or make preferable
narrative testimony.
 Irrelevant or Immaterial: when the question is not about the issues in the trial.
 Misstates evidence/ misquotes witness/ improper characterization of
evidence: this objection is often overruled but can be used to signal a problem to
witness, judge and jury.
 Counsel is testifying: this objection is sometimes used when counsel is "leading" or
"argumentative" or "assumes facts not in evidence".
 Lack of Foundation: Advocates should not assume witnesses are familiar with
certain pieces of evidence or information, and instead should establish this
familiarity before proceeding with the next question.
 Non-responsive: Witnesses have to answer the question being asked. They are not
allowed to provide an answer to a question that was not asked.
 Nothing pending: Witnesses may not speak on matters irrelevant to the question.
 Privilege: Parties may not ask witnesses a question if the witness is protected by
law from answering the question.
 Leading question (Direct examination only): the question suggests the answer to
the witness. Leading questions are permitted if the attorney conducting the
examination has received permission to treat the witness as a hostile witness.
Leading questions are also permitted on cross-examination, as witnesses called by
the opposing party are presumed hostile.

Awards and Pointing System

While standard MUN General Assemblies have a pointing system that takes in
consideration points, speeches, resolutions, and amendments made by delegates in order
to choose a Best Delegate and Best Speaker, the ICJ has a completely different system.

In the ICJ, there are two possible awards apart from stipulations: the Best Advocate and
Best Judge awards. There is no solid pointing system that presidents use in every
conference to choose the recipients of these awards and it usually boils down to chair’s
discretion. Generally when looking for a Best Advocate, presidents look for an advocate
that present evidence the most comprehensively and persuasively while asking the most
critical questions during witness examinations. When looking for Best Judge, the questions
that Judges make when asking advocates and witnesses are taken into consideration along
with how a judge leads other judges to take the same stance that he or she has regarding
the trial during caucuses.

As always, the quality of a delegate’s performance is more important than frequency.

Delegate’s Guide to MUN Simulations on the International Court of Justice Page 7

5 ICJ Judges' deliberation, Hague, Netherlands
Rules of Procedure
The procedure of an MUN ICJ session may vary from conference to chair but generally
follows this flow:

1. Roll Call – Presidents will take note of the attendance by asking the advocates and
judges for a “present” response.

2. Oath Taking – The rapporteur will swear everybody in, asking everybody to
promise to uphold the integrity of the court through an oath.

3. Presentation of Cases – The presidents will present the case and legal matters to
be discussed during the trial, as well as introduce the two parties in opposition.

4. Opening Speeches – Each party of advocates are given 10 – 20 minutes for an

opening speech to introduce their stance on the issue at hand. How pairs of
advocates divide this speaking time amongst themselves are up to them.

5. Establishment of Stipulations – The stipulations that have been accepted by the

presidents as unbiased will be established and read out loud for future reference.

Delegate’s Guide to MUN Simulations on the International Court of Justice Page 8

 6. Presentation of Evidence – Both parties of advocates will then be given more or
less an hour to present and explain their evidence. Judges can object to any evidence
given and can also ask questions when permitted by the president.

7. Judges’ Deliberation of Evidence – After all the evidence has been presented, the
advocates will be asked to leave the court temporarily so the judges can express
their current stance through either a moderated or unmoderated caucus. Judges are
free to persuade other judges through speaking or can simply send notes to the
president. A non-binding poll or an unofficial voting procedure can be taken if a
motion is set.

8. Witness Testimonies – The advocates are then called back to the court to present
at most 3 witnesses each. When a witness is presented, he or she will first swear an
oath:

I solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

An opening statement will then be made. The advocates that have summoned the
witness will then be allowed by the president to have a direct examination before
the opposing party will be allowed for a cross examination, until finally an
examination by the judges. If there are no time constraints, a motion can be set for a
second round of examination.

9. Final Questions – After all the witnesses have given testimonies, judges will be
given the opportunity to ask any advocate questions related to nothing more than
the opening speech, evidences, and witness testimonies presented by the advocate
in question.

10. Closing Statements – Once questioning is over, each party of advocates will be
given at least 15 minutes each for one crucial final speech to persuade the judges
into accepting their stance.

11. Judges’ Final Deliberation – The advocates are then escorted out of the court to
allow the judges to deliberate again in any format in the discretion of the chair. After
this deliberation, a divided simple majority vote will take place.

12. Announcement of Verdict – The advocates are called back to the court, a judge or
the president will present and justify the final verdict before the trial officially
closes.

Delegate’s Guide to MUN Simulations on the International Court of Justice Page 9

References
https://www.icj-cij.org/en/court

https://basicknowledge101.com/pdf/km/List%20of%20objections.pdf

https://www.benarnews.org/english/news/bengali/bangladesh-rohingya-12112019165504.html

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5a8d4ae9f14aa107c2b89f1c/t/5ab3b0618a922d5e4a09c
c12/1521725540066/MUN+ICJ+GUIDE+Apr.+2018.pdf

https://bestdelegate.com/how-to-judge-people-and-influence-chairs-a-veterans-guide-to-being-
a-judge-in-the-icj/

Delegate’s Guide to MUN Simulations on the International Court of Justice Page 10