UPDATE: Not all member states of the United Nations are automatically parties to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) because it is the principal judicial organ of the UN. There is no separate treaty like the Rome Statute for the ICC that countries need to sign. However, not all countries fully accept the ICJ's jurisdiction in every case.
Countries can choose whether to accept the ICJ's compulsory jurisdiction in legal disputes. This means that while they are members of the ICJ, they may not necessarily agree to submit to its rulings unless they consent to the court's jurisdiction on a case-by-case basis or through specific treaties.
For example:
The United States withdrew from the ICJ's compulsory jurisdiction in 1986 after a ruling against it in the Nicaragua case.
Other countries, like Russia, China, and France, have also limited their acceptance of the ICJ's jurisdiction, typically opting for case-by-case consent.
So while all UN member states are subject to the ICJ as a part of the UN framework, their participation in specific legal cases varies depending on their consent to jurisdiction.
UPDATE: Not all member states of the United Nations are automatically parties to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) because it is the principal judicial organ of the UN. There is no separate treaty like the Rome Statute for the ICC that countries need to sign. However, not all countries fully accept the ICJ's jurisdiction in every case.
Countries can choose whether to accept the ICJ's compulsory jurisdiction in legal disputes. This means that while they are members of the ICJ, they may not necessarily agree to submit to its rulings unless they consent to the court's jurisdiction on a case-by-case basis or through specific treaties.
For example:
So while all UN member states are subject to the ICJ as a part of the UN framework, their participation in specific legal cases varies depending on their consent to jurisdiction.