Enforcing judgments of the international court of justice: the role of the security council

The United Nations imposes an obligation on Member States to comply with the decision of the International Court of Justice. If a party to a dispute fails to do so, the other party can refer the matter to the Security Council which will then make recommendations or decide to take appropriate measures to give legal effect to the decision of the Court. This paper highlights hurdles with the enforcement of judgments of the International Court of Justice through the Security Council by analysing the Nicaragua case, in which it was apparent that the Security Council decided the matter politically by following its stringent voting procedures. Of course, it is not the desired outcome for the parties to receive a political solution through the Security Council after they have opted for the adjudicative means to settle their international dispute through the International Court of Justice with the hope of receiving a judicial solution to the case. Hence, this paper aims to explore options to render the decisions of the International Court of Justice with pragmatic, binding legal effect and efficient enforcement power. Accordingly, it is proposed that when a case of non-compliance of the decision of the International Court of Justice is brought to the Security Council, it should simply endorse the decision of the Court without deliberating it further and going through a voting process.