World - 2 hours ago

International Court Of Justice: Iceland Files A Declaration Recognizing The Compulsory Jurisdiction Of The Court.

0 8 min read

Haque; March 2026: On 26th February 2026, Iceland deposited with the Secretary General of the United Nations a declaration, under Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Statute of the Court, recognising as compulsory the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.

Article 36, paragraph 2, of the Statute reads as follows:

“The States parties to the present Statute may at any time declare that they recognise as compulsory ipso facto and without special agreement, in relation to any other State accepting the same obligation, the jurisdiction of the Court in all legal disputes”.

Seventy-five States parties to the Statute, including Iceland, currently recognise the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court by means of a declaration made under Article 36.

The full list of States which have deposited declarations recognising the jurisdiction of the Court as compulsory, together with the text of the declarations themselves.

DECLARATION –

The Government of Iceland declares that it accepts as compulsory ipso facto and without special agreement, on condition of reciprocity, the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, in conformity with paragraph 2 of Article 36 of the Statute of the Court, until such time as notice may be given to the Secretary-General of the United Nations withdrawing this declaration.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, any dispute concerning the law of the sea shall be subject to the limitations and exceptions relating to the settlement of disputes under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, its Implementing Agreements, and any declaration made by Iceland pursuant to the Convention or those Agreements.

(Signed)

Þorgeður Katrin Gunnarsdóttir

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iceland

Reykjavik, 9 February 2026.

FULL LIST OF STATES DEPOSITED DECLARATION –

The States parties to the Statute of the Court may “at any time declare that they recognise 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 recognised 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 recognising 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 75 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):