Comments on the International Court of Justice’s Jurisdiction: Judgment of 3 February 2021 (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States)

Abstract

On 3 February 2021, The International Court of Justice [hereafter, I.C.J or Court],  issued significant judgment on jurisdiction (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States) [hereafter, Iran v. U.S Judgment], on preliminary objections, where the Court declared the admissibility of Iran's application, and held that the Court has jurisdiction on the basis of Article XXI, paragraph 2 of the Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations, and Consular Rights of 1955 [hereafter, Treaty of Amity]. The Court voted overwhelmingly to reject the U.S’s preliminary objections. We will examine through the separate and dissenting opinions of the Court judges and jurisprudence, to why the Court hewed closely to Iran’s characterization of the dispute as one pertaining to the Treaty of Amity rather than one really involving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [hereafter, JCPOA], as the U.S argue, and why the Court rejected the other objections?