International Court of Justice
Committee Introduction
The International Court of Justice is a simulation of the actual ICJ, or the World Court. Whereas the United Nations International Court of Justice deals with legal disputes filed in by member states of the United Nations, the ICJ in MUN reviews on past, or ongoing, court cases, and debates on cases that is publicly believe to be controversial. Advocates are assigned either as the Plaintiff Council (prosecution) or the Defense Council, and debates on behalf of the country in the court: Their main goal is to win the court case and thus keep their country from being penalized by the court. Justices acts as the jury panel, and assists the judges (chairs of the court) to determine the relevancy and validity of evidence submitted by the councils, as well as the credibility of the witnesses. The justices should be active in caucuses, and assist the judges to come up with the final verdict of the cases.
The verdict of the ICJ is based upon:
-
speeches given and evidence provided by the councils,
-
the interactions between the advocates in court through objections and their right to reply,
-
the performances of witnesses, and
-
opinions of the justices.
During the duration of the camp, participants of ICJ will get to experience being both advocates and justices during the simulation of the two cases chosen by the HSMUN 2016 team.
Case Introduction
Obligations concerning Negotiations relating to Cessation of the Nuclear Arms Race and to Nuclear Disarmament
(Marshall Island v. United Kingdom; Marshall Island v. Pakistan)
On April 24th, 2014, Marshall Islands submitted lawsuits against 9 member states--the United States of America, China, Russian Federation, Pakistan, India, the United Kingdom, France, North Korea and Israel, prosecuting them for violating their obligations engendered by the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Marshall Islands currently pursues the cases in the ICJ against United Kingdom, Pakistan, and India, yet the other 6 cases submitted are stalled due to the fact that they do not recognize the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ. The three court cases are still on-going; verdicts have not been made.
For HSMUN 2016, the ICJ chose the two court cases filed in by Marshall Islands against the United Kingdom and Pakistan, as the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons is essential in the aspects of not only disarmament, international security, and human rights, but also issues of obligations of member states.
Presidents
Greetings to my beloved underclassmen! I am Shirley, currently majoring in Economics in National Taiwan University. I started my Model United Nations career back in high school while studying abroad, and MUN, to be completely honest, was where I truly opened my eyes to this wide world. As a person that spent half of my life travelling, I have witnessed the variety of our globe, in regards to culture, ideologies, and a ton more different aspects, ever since I was a child; yet MUN was the only place that taught me not to just “see” what is happening around us, but to “observe” and furthermore “analyze”: I would say that MUN was where I built up most of my critical thinking skills. In addition, MUN was where I learned the importance of having an open mind; after all those conferences I’ve been to and all the people I’ve worked with, I’ve gained the ability to listen to other opinions, and try to incorporate them with my own ones.
HSMUN 2016 will be my thirteenth conference, and the third time in the International Court of Justice. I will be travelling to NMUN NY this coming March, and hopefully I will gain more experience so that more can be given to all of you who are attending HSMUN. I truly hope I can bring the best to our court, and give you guys four days of unforgettable memory. Can’t wait to meet y’all; see you in July!
Deputy Presidents
I would like to give a big shout-out to all those extraordinary MUNers! My name is Jason, freshman in NTU, currently majoring in International Business. I didn't fall into the wonderland of MUN until last September. I have waded through the fierceness of two MUN conferences, including 2015 CitiPAMUN, and have the chance to see and cooperate with numerous infuriatingly excellent MUNers. This March I will attend NMUN in NYC as the delegate of Sao Tome and Principe in ECOFIN. For first MUNers and people who might not be as fluent as native speakers, my suggestion is do not freak out! There are always outstanding MUNers, such as our chair, Shirley, that you will constantly be impressed by their talent and effort and have a sense that your existence is redundant (To be honest, that's often how I feel when facing her). But keep this in mind: It's these people that can truly spur you to improve yourself. You will actually see those intangible changes made by yourself when the time comes. As for experienced MUNers, I am pretty sure that HSMUN is gonna be your show time! Bring out your best, and look forward to seeing you guys in July.
Hello everyone! My name is Annie Meng. It’s a great honor to me of being the co-chair in International Court of Justice (ICJ), HSMUN 2016. I major in law in National Taiwan University. I have had strong passion for MUN since I learned this activity for the very first time. Therefore, I’ve been to about six MUNs held by different schools. Also, I served as chair during KHMUN 2015. Aside from participating MUNs, I established the KGHS MUN Club for my high school. MUN is a wonderful campaign which can enhance your ability in many aspects. I even couldn’t image how my high school life would be like if it weren’t for MUN. I believed all of you must learn much more than you’ve expected in HSMUN this year. Sincerely hoping you enable to have the abundant and unforgettable experience with us.