On November 6, ...

... 2003, the International Court of Justice issued a judgment rejecting both Iraq's claim against the United States stemming from certain U.S. naval attacks during the Persian Gulf War (the 2d of these attacks is pictured at right), as well as the U.S. counterallegation that Iran had violated freedom of commerce and navigation in the region. As our colleague Pieter H.F. Bekker explained in this ASIL Insight, the ICJ judgment in the Oil Platforms Case came "at a time when the requirements for the use of force are hotly debated among UN member states, includes important statements regarding the legal limits on the use of force, including the criteria of necessity and proportionality."
... 1962 (45 years ago today), the United Nations General Assembly asked member states to act with an aim to bring an end to apartheid in South Africa. Resolution 1761 (XII) recommended means such as the breaking of diplomatic, trade, and transport relations, and further launched the Special Committee against Apartheid, which "became the main instrument of the United Nations for promoting and monitoring a comprehensive programme of action against apartheid."

Bounded dispute

Check out the ASIL Insight by Pieter H.F. Bekker and Ana Stanic respecting this month's judgment in which the International Court of Justice resolved a Central American boundaries dispute dating from decolonization 8 decades ago.
Upon winning independence from Spain in 1821, Nicaragua and Honduras disagreed on the ownership of 4 islands. (map courtesy of ASIL Insights) Periodic arbitration efforts failed to resolve the matter. In this month's judgment, Case Concerning Territorial and Maritime Disputes between Nicaragua and Honduras in the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Honduras), the ICJ unanimously awarded sovereignty of the islands to the applicant, Nicaragua. Bekker and Stanic note that in so doing the court clarified the framework for settling such disputes -- and thus may ease resolution of pending cases involving Nicaragua and Colombia, Nicaragua and Costa Rica, Romania and Ukraine, Namibia and South Africa, and Japan and China.