Remarks by the President of the General Assembly
H.E. Ms. Annalena Baerbock
at the plenary meeting on Agenda item 73 ¨C Report of the International Court of Justice
30 October 2025
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[As delivered]
Your Excellency, Judge Yuji Iwasawa, President of the International Court of Justice,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Already at its setup, in 1946, the first President of the International Court of Justice made clear that the health and longevity of the Court depended on the trust we placed in it, and how much we made use of it.
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In the decades since, both trust in and demands of the court have only grown.
In 1968, the year of the first report to the General Assembly, there were only three contentious cases pending, and no request for an Advisory Opinion.
In contrast, this year the ICJ has handed down three judgments and one Advisory Opinion, and had a total of 23 contentious cases and 2 advisory proceedings in its General List.
There are three takeaways from this increase in workload.
First, there is the positive outlook. In relying on the Court¡¯s jurisdiction, Member States have understood that it is also in their own best interests to make use of mechanisms for the peaceful resolution of disputes on the global stage, instead of acting unilaterally or, in the worst instances, resorting to force.
Second, and also positive, is that Member States are turning to the Court to address problems that they see as beyond any one country¡¯s remit or capacity to address, the so-called problems without passports.
This is perhaps best exemplified by the landmark Opinion last July, on the obligations of States in respect of climate change.
A total of 96 countries participated in those oral proceedings, which evidences not only the relevance of the topic, but the weight that ICJ rulings carry in the international community.
And third, and this might be rather the other side of the story. While Member States increasingly turn to the Court, they often do so in cases where countries are disagreeing on even the most basic principles of international law. They are delegating to the Court the responsibility to fill the gap left by the inability or unwillingness of the international community, sometimes the Security Council, to act, and insufficient power here in our General Assembly.
The most recent Advisory Opinion, on the situation in the Middle East, speaks to this.
That Opinion, on the Obligations in relation to the presence and activities of the United Nations, Other International Organizations and Third States in, and in relation to, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in response to the question posed by the General Assembly, provided legal certainty with regard to the obligations of the State of Israel under international law.
Presumably, as our world continues to grapple with new and emerging challenges, this relevance of the Court will only grow.
And while we welcome the trust placed in the Court, we must also recognize its constraints and limitations.
Just like the broader Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ itself, just like our discussions here around Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ80, the International Court of Justice can only deliver within its means.
As the average number of cases before the Court has doubled ¨C and the number of requests for provisional measures per year has quadrupled ¨C it stands to reason that the Court would need additional resources.
I understand that the ICJ has requested an increase of 6% in its budget to help address these concerns.
Excellencies,
If the Charter is our global constitution, the Court is the means by which we hold this constitution alive and Member States accountable.
But the success of the Court is not just about submitting new cases or requesting new Advisory Opinions.
It does not end when the ICJ renders its decisions.
For it to truly be successful, that understanding¡ that respect for a multilateral arbiter must remain intact.
Respect for the court¡¯s decisions,
Respect for our multilateral commitments,
Respect for legal obligations under international law and implementation of the Court¡¯s decisions.
In current times, when international law is under immense strain and while we are witnessing blatant violations of its fundamental rules, we need Member States to fight beside the Court for international justice and to hold into account those who violate it.
With that, I would like to thank you, your excellency Judge Iwasawa, for the work you and your Court is doing, and I also thank you for the briefing this morning.
With that, I would like to give the floor to Judge Iwasawa, President of the International Court of Justice.