List of All Cases
Every case since 1947, contentious and advisory, in General List order.
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Cases
Cases
Between 22 May 1947 and 26 June 2026, 202 cases were entered in the General List of the Court.
Two kinds of case
Contentious cases and advisory proceedings
The Court has a twofold role: to settle, in accordance with international law, legal disputes submitted to it by States (contentious cases) and to give advisory opinions (advisory procedures) on legal questions referred to it by duly authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
In contentious proceedings, when a dispute is brought before the Court by a unilateral application filed by one State against another State, the names of the parties in the official title of the case are separated by the abbreviation v. for the Latin versus (e.g., Cameroon v. Nigeria). When a dispute is submitted to the Court on the basis of a special agreement between two States, the names of the parties are separated by an oblique stroke (e.g., Indonesia/Malaysia).
The first case entered in the General List of the Court (Corfu Channel (United Kingdom v. Albania)) was submitted on 22 May 1947.
The General List
202
cases entered in the General List, 22 May 1947 to 26 June 2026
1947
Corfu Channel (United Kingdom v. Albania), the first case, submitted 22 May
3
cases currently being heard or under deliberation
2
official languages for every judgment, opinion and order
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Seven ways into the case law
In the redesigned site each case is one content record: its documents, press releases, hearings and time-limits attach to it and appear on every list automatically.
Pending cases
Cases currently before the Court, with those being heard or under deliberation first.
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Contentious cases organized by State
Find every case a State has been party to, as applicant or respondent.
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Contentious cases organized by incidental proceedings
Preliminary objections, provisional measures, intervention, counter-claims.
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Advisory proceedings
Opinions on legal questions referred by UN organs and specialized agencies.
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Judgments, Advisory Opinions and Orders
Every decision of the Court, by date, in English and French.
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Case documents
Pleadings, orders and judgments in one place
Written pleadings are not made available to the press and public until the opening of the oral proceedings, and only then if the parties have no objection. Once published, every document belongs to its case: the application, the written pleadings, the verbatim records of the hearings, the orders fixing time-limits and the judgment itself, each in both official languages.
Reading a case title
Frequently asked
What does “v.” mean in a case title?
The abbreviation v. for the Latin versus marks a case brought by a unilateral application of one State against another — for example Cameroon v. Nigeria.
What does an oblique stroke mean?
An oblique stroke — Indonesia/Malaysia — marks a case submitted on the basis of a special agreement between two States, in which there is neither an applicant nor a respondent.
Who may bring a case?
Only States may be parties to contentious cases. Advisory opinions may be requested by duly authorized United Nations organs and specialized agencies.
Now before the Court
Pending cases
Public hearings in Nicaragua v. Germany run from Monday 7 to Thursday 10 September 2026.