The International Court of Justice in a Changing World the Concept of Sovereignty in Perspective

Abstract

Against the backdrop that law reflects the conditions and cultural traditions of the society within which it operates and which society always (albeit randomly) evolve a certain specific set of values social, economic and political which inevitably stamps its mark on the legal framework which orders life in that society; International Law being a product of its environment must develop within the purview of prevailing notions of international relations and thus must be in harmony with the realities of the age if it must survive.‘ A’ fortiori, international law since the second half of the twentieth century has been developing in many directions as the complexities of life in the modem era has multiplied. This dynamism of international law has had to contend with tensions between those rules already established and the constantly evolving forces that seek changes within the system} Thus, a major problem of international law is to determine when and how to incorporate new standards of behavior and new realities of life into the already existing framework so that on the one hand the law remains relevant whilst on the other hand, the system itself is not too rigorously disrupted. A’ fortiori, all these developments demand a constant reappraisal of the structures of international law and its rules. It is within these contexts therefore that the jurisprudence and position of the International Court of Justice is to be appraised; more so as it is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations and the guardian of International legality.