O relacionamento entre o Conselho de Segurança das Nações Unidas e a Corte Internacional de Justiça

This chapter analyses the complex relationship between the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the International Court of Justice (ICJ), two principal organs of the United Nations. While the ICJ performs a judicial function, resolving disputes in accordance with international law, the Security Council exercises political authority to ensure the enforcement of peace. Their concurrent jurisdiction occasionally gives rise to tensions, particularly regarding the judicial review of Security Council resolutions and the legal limits of its powers. Through an examination of key cases - most notably the Lockerbie proceedings - the chapter explores how the ICJ has approached potential conflicts with the Security Council, rejecting any notion of hierarchy between the two organs and affirming a model of functional parallelism. This relationship is also reflected in mechanisms of mutual complementarity, such as the Council’s authority to ensure compliance with ICJ judgments under Article 94(2) of the UN Charter and its capacity to request advisory opinions under Article 96. The discussion then turns to the legal limits of the Security Council’s powers, which are constrained by the UN Charter, general international law, and peremptory norms (jus cogens). Although the ICJ cannot conduct an abstract legality review of Council decisions, it may incidentally interpret Security Council resolutions when necessary to resolve disputes before it. Ultimately, the chapter concludes that the relationship between the ICJ and the Security Council is best understood as one of complementary and non-hierarchical functions within the UN’s collective security system.