The States parties to the Statute of the Court may “at any time declare that they recognize as compulsory ipso facto and without special agreement, in relation to any other State accepting the same obligation, the jurisdiction of the Court” (Art. 36, para. 2, of the Statute).
Each State which has recognized the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court has in principle the right to bring any one or more other States, which have accepted the same obligation, before the Court, by filing an application instituting proceedings with the Court. Conversely, it undertakes to appear before the Court should proceedings be instituted against it by one or more other such States.
The declarations recognizing the jurisdiction of the Court as compulsory take the form of a unilateral act of the State concerned and are deposited with the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
The texts of declarations made under Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Statute, which, based on the information provided by the depository, had not expired or been withdrawn or replaced on 1 June 2023, can be found below. The inclusion or omission of a declaration is without prejudice to its possible application by the Court in a particular case.
In view of the provisions of Article 36, paragraph 5, of the Statute of the International Court of Justice, the list also includes the texts of declarations made under the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice that have not lapsed or been withdrawn. There are now six such declarations.
The declarations of 74 States deposited that are in force today are given here in English. Where this is not the original language of the declaration, the translations used, except where otherwise indicated, are by the Secretariat of the United Nations or of the League of Nations.
The following declarations have been filed with the Secretary-General of the United Nations (the date shown after the name of the State is that on which the declaration was deposited):
