North Country Model United Nations
Monday, September 11, 2006
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International Court of Justice
The rules of
procedure for the ICJ shall be considered adopted in advance of the session.
Only the regulations set forth by the UN Charter, the ICJ Statute (with the
exception of Articles 21, 22, 25, 32, and 39), and these rules of procedure are
applicable.
English shall
be the official working language of the Court.
The
Co-Secretary Generals shall appoint the President and other Officers of the
Court who shall hold office until the close of the conference.
The
Co-Secretary Generals or any member of the staff designated by them as their
representative may at any time address the Court.
Each member
nation shall be represented by only one justice.
The
credentials of all justices are accepted upon registration. Any justice to whose
admission a justice objects shall be seated provisionally with the same rights
as other justices. Actions relating to the modification of rights, privileges,
or credentials of any Justice may not be initiated without written consent of
the Co-Secretary Generals.
When one or
more of the parties to the case does not have a member already on the Court, the
party or parties shall choose a judge under Article 31 of the Statute, and the
Court may sit with a number of Justices exceeding fifteen. Ad hoc justices shall
have the same rights as those of full members for the duration of the pending
case.
The
President will act as the Presiding Officer of the Court; the
President may temporarily transfer his/her duties as Presiding Officer to
the Vice-President.
a. The President shall have the final decision over all committee disputes. All judgments must be approved as to form and content and subsequently signed by the President in order to be filed with the Vice-President for publication.
b.
The Vice-President shall assist the President in his/her duties, keep a
record of all meetings, be responsible for the upkeep of the General List of
Cases, administrative work, communications from the Court, and all Court
publications and documents.
c.
The Officers of the Court may also advise the justices as to possible
courses of debate. In the exercise of these functions, the Officers of the Court
shall at all times be subject to these rules and those of the Co-Secretary
Generals.
The
Presiding Officer may declare the Court in session and permit debate to proceed
when at least seven of the justices are present. The presence of nine justices
shall be required to vote on a judgment. A quorum shall be assumed to be present
unless specifically challenged and shown to be absent. A roll call is not in
order to define the presence of a quorum.
All
Officers, justices, agents, witnesses, and experts shall show courtesy and
respect the Officers of the Court and other participants. The Presiding Officer
shall immediately call to order anyone who fails to comply with this rule.
If
two cases are open on the General List of Cases, the first order of business for
the Court shall be the consideration of the agenda. The only motion in order at
this point shall be in the form of “I move that Case X be placed on the
agenda.” The motion requires a second and is debatable. Debate shall proceed
in a manner determined by the Presiding Officer. A motion to close debate will
be in order only after the Court has heard a minimum of two justices speaking
for the motion and two speaking against the motion.
d. If the motion to close debate passes by a majority of justices present, the Court will move immediate vote on the motion to adopt the agenda. A majority of justices present shall be necessary to pass the motion. If the motion passes, that case will be placed first on the agenda. If the motion fails, the other case shall be placed first. The Presiding Officer shall then declare the case placed first on the agenda open.
e. The court may proceed to the next case only if the case under consideration is withdrawn, dismissed, or closed. After the Court ahs dispensed the first case, it shall immediately proceed into the second one.
Procedure of the Court Deliberations on a case shall be divided into five phrases:
f. Written Proceedings:
1. For Jurisdiction hearings, documents may not be necessary if the arguments are included with the Memorial and the Counter-Memorial but shall otherwise be presented in the order below:
- An application by the applicant
- A response from the respondent
2. For Merit proceedings, documents shall be presented in the order below:
- A Memorial by the applicant
- A Counter-Memorial by the respondent
3. For Compensation proceedings, documents may not
be necessary if arguments for Compensation have already been submitted with the Merit documents, but if not, the same procedure as under Merits shall apply to Compensation.
a. Initial Debate: The Presiding Officer shall
determine the precise time allotted for Initial Debate.
b. Oral Proceedings:
1. Opening Statements by the agents to the parties of the case
2. Questioning of agents, witnesses, and experts
3. Closing Statements by the agents of parties to the case
c. Final Debate: Final Debate may only be closed
by a motion to retire.
d. Drafting and Delivery of Judgments
e. Initial Debate and Oral Proceedings for any one
hearing may be dispensed with if both parties to
the case so agree.
Each agent, witness, or expert shall make the following declaration before giving evidence to the Court:
“I
solemnly declare upon my honor and my conscience that I will speak the truth,
the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”
The Oath shall be administered by the President, or in his/her absence, the Vice President.
All supporting documentation shall be attached to the Memorial and the Counter-Memorial. The parties must submit such documentation, with the exception of affidavits, during the Written Proceedings. Documentation, following the close of the Written Proceedings, shall be admissible only if both parties to the case agree.
Initial and Final Debate shall be conducted in an informal style, the precise manner of which to be determined by the Presiding Officer.
During Oral Proceedings the Court may put questions to opposing counsel, witnesses, and experts. The time limits for the questioning of each individual shall be determined by the Presiding Officer of the Court, in consultation with the Court. The Presiding Officer will determine the precise manner in which questions shall be put.
The term Speaker from here on shall refer to an agent, witness, or expert addressing the Court during Oral Proceedings. During Initial Debate, the Presiding Officer, in consultation with the Court, shall be called to appear for questioning by the Court.
A justice or agent whose personal integrity has been impugned my request a Right of Reply. The Presiding Officer’s decision whether to grant this plea is unappealable. A Right to Reply to a Right to Reply is out of order.
A justice may appeal any decision of the Presiding Officer except those that are explicitly deigned unappealable by these rules. The Presiding Officer may speak briefly in defense of the ruling. The appeal shall then be put to a vote, and the decision of the Presiding Officer shall stand unless overruled by two-thirds of the justices present.
- The President’s decision not to sign a judgment is never appealable. The Presiding Officer’s ruling on the Right to Reply, Points of Order, Recess or Adjournment of the meeting, and other rules expressly noted are unappealable.
Whenever a justice or an agent experiences personal discomfort which impairs his ability to participate in the proceedings, that person may rise to a Point of Personal Privilege o request that the discomfort be corrected. A Point of Personal Privilege may interrupt a speaker, but this power should be used with the utmost discretion.
A justice or agent may rise to a Point of Order to note improper room procedure, and Presiding Officer shall immediately decide upon the Point in accordance with these rules of procedure. The Presiding Officer may rule out of order those points that are dilatory or improper; such a ruling is unappealable. A person risign to a Point of Order may not speak on the substance of discussion but simply a violation of these rules. A Point of Order may interrupt a speaker but may not be used as an objection.
When the floor is open, a justice or an agent may rise to a Point of Parliamentary Inquiry to ask a question to the Presiding Officer regarding these rules and parliamentary procedure. A Point of Parliamentary Inquiry may never interrupt a speaker. Points of Information do not exist. Delegates wishing to ask a substantive question should send a note to the Presiding Officer or should ask during a recess.
An assertion is defined as evidence, opinion, or analysis introduced by a party for the purposes of advancing a legal or factual argument. Justices may object to assertions of law or fact raised by another justice. Agents my object to an assertion of law or fact raised by another justice. Agents my object to an assertion of law or fact raised by a speaker. The following are valid objections:
1. Immaterial: An objection to an assertion of law which does not conform to the rules of evidence set forth in Article 38 of the Statute or an objection to an assertion of a fact which is not properly certified under oath. Circumstantial evidence may be submitted in support of an assertion of fact.
2. Hearsay: A hearsay objection may be raised when a speaker asserts to a fact that he did not directly observe. Agents may assert a particular incident occurred even if they did not directly observe it, but such assertions shall be considered as simply arguments and not evidence
3. Competence: A competency objection may be raised when a speaker asserts to a technical fact that he/she is not professionally qualified to give. Agents may assert a particular technical fact is true, but such assertions shall be considered as simply arguments and not evidence.
4. Prejudicial: May be raised if an assertion is presented in such a way that the personal integrity of an Officer, justice, or speaker is impugned.
5. Irrelevant: Mat be raised if an assertion is irrelevant to the case at hand.
6. Speculation: May be raised if an assertion is speculative in nature. The Presiding Officer shall rule upon objections immediately. Should the objection be sustained, the assertion made shall be considered stricken from the record. Objections should be used sparingly. The misuse of objections by agents shall be noted by the Court in its judgment. Objections must be made courteously and may interrupt a speaker.
Whenever the floor is open, a justice may move the adjournment of the meeting to suspend all committee functions for the duration of the Conference. The Presiding Officer may rule such motions out of order; these decisions are not subject to appeal. Such a motion will require a majority of justices present to pass. A motion to adjourn shall be out of order prior to the lapse of three-fourths of the time allotted for the last meeting of the Court.
Whenever the floor is open, a justice may move to recess the meeting. The Presiding Officer may rules such motions out of order; these decisions shall not be subject to appeal. The sponsor of the motion must specify the time limit and briefly explain the purpose of the recess. The motion shall then be put to an immediate vote, the majority of justices present required to pass.
May be moved by an agent for the purpose of consulting with his/her home government. The Presiding Officer may rule either in favor or against the motion and shall establish a time limit not exceeding five minutes for the recess. The Presiding Officer’s ruling is unappealable.
If at any time before the judgment has been delivered, the parties conclude an agreement to settle the dispute, the agents may move the case to be removed from the General List. The Presiding Officer shall then order the case withdrawn.
If at any time before the judgment has been delivered, an agent feels insufficient evidence has been introduced to continue the case, he may move for a dismissal. The Presiding Officer may rule such a motion out of order and the decision is unappealable. If the Presiding Officer accepts the mtoin, it shall be put to an immediate vote with two-thirds of the justices present needed to dismiss. If the vote carries, the Presiding Officer shall then declare the case dismissed.
During Final Debate, a justice may move the Court retire to consider a decision. When the motion to retire is moved, the Presiding Officer shall recognize up to two speakers against the motion. No speaker in favor of the motion shall be recognized. This motion required two-thirds of the justices present for passage. If a vote to retire carries, a justice may move for a poll on the issue.
g. When the motions for polls have been exhausted, the Court shall then proceed, in closed Court, to take a vote on the whole case. Justices may yea, in favor of the applicant; nay, in favor of the respondent; or abstain. The first vote is non-binding.
h. The justices shall then proceed to draw up their judgments after which a second vote shall be taken to see if any justice has reversed his/her opinion. The second vote is binding. The Presiding Officer shall then determine which opinion of the majority is the opinion of the Court in accordance with Rule 32. The Presiding Office shall then reconvene the Court to deliver the judgment and shall subsequently declare the case closed.
A justice may at any time move for an informal survey on any point of fact or law on which he/she wishes to know the Court’s opinion. The Presiding Officer will rules on the motion and is subject to appeal.
After a substantive motion has been passed, the Court may move to reconsider the vote. The motion must be made and seconded by justices who voted in the majority. The motion is debatable. A motion to close debate is in order after two speakers have been heard. Two-thirds of justices present are necessary for the motion to pass.
Opinions shall be divided into two groups: the Majority Opinion and the Minority Opinion. Those justices who constitute the consensus as to for whom the judgment is to be rendered shall write the Majority Opinion. The justices who are in the minority after the first non-binding vote and are opposed to the operative portion of the ruling shall write the Minority Opinion. Justices may write separate Minority Opinions if their reasoning in points of law differ. Any justice who agrees with the operative portion of the ruling \but for different reasons than stated in the Opinion of the Court writes a concurring opinion.
i. The Opinion of the Court shall be deemed the option receiving the most signatures from among the opinions written by the Majority.
j. If no opinion should attain a plurality of Majority signatures so as to be considered the Opinion of the Court, the Presiding Officer shall declare no Opinion of the Court to exist and shall subsequently draw up a statement declaring for whom the ruling is rendered, followed by the opinions drawn up by the justices.
Motions shall be considered in the following order of precedence:
k. Parliamentary Points
1.
Points which may interrupt a speaker: Points of Personal Privilege, Point
of Order
2.
Points which may not interrupt a speaker: Point of Parliamentary Inquiry
l. Objections
m. Procedural Motions which are not debatable: Adjournment, Recess, Recess for Consultation
n. Procedural motions that are applicable to judgments: Withdrawal, Dismissal, Retirement
o. Poll
p.
Reconsideration
Delegates
will be permitted to pass notes during the session, but only
through one of the pages. Notes
must be signed on the outside by the country sending the note and
properly addressed to the country that is to receive it on the outside of the
note. Notes being sent
inter-committee will be read by the chair and must be approved before it is sent
inter-committee. Notes sent to the
chair may be ruled Dilatory, Absurd, or Frivolous by the chair and the sender
may loose his/her note passing privileges.
Any notes that have a sexual or
racial connotation or are personally insulting to another delegate will be
turned over to the appropriate faculty advisor and the delegate will be asked to
LEAVE THE CONFERENCE.
The
Presiding Officer may rule a member out of order as dilatory, absurd, or
frivolous. That member alone may appeal the ruling of the Chair. If this appeal
is upheld, that member will be considered in order. If this appeal is not able
to receive the support of 2/3 of the members, that member is out of order and
shall be denied all the privileges to address the body or move any motion while
that item of the agenda under consideration remains before the body. That member
shall be accorded only the right to vote on motions under consideration.
All
delegates have the responsibility of conducting themselves in a diplomatic
manner. Undiplomatic conduct will be looked upon with extreme disfavor by the
secretariat. Violation of this rule may lead to immediate expulsion from the
current function.
The
chairperson of the session may, at his/her discretion, place warnings on
countries for acts considered undiplomatic. These warnings may not be appealed.
The penalty system follows:
1st warning
no penalty
2nd
warning
no speaking, voting, or note passing privileges
3rd
warning
removal of delegate from the room