Ireland at the UN in The Netherlands

The Embassy of Ireland to the Kingdom of the Netherlands seeks to promote Ireland’s interests and values in a range of international organisations based in The Hague, which is known as the international city of peace and justice.

International Court of Justice

The Hague is the seat of the International Court of Justice, which is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.

The Court’s function is to decide in accordance with international law the legal disputes submitted to it by states. The Court may also give advisory opinions on any legal question at the request of certain bodies authorised to do so under the UN Charter.

Statute of the Court

All member states of the United Nations are automatically parties to the Statute of the Court, which forms an integral part of the UN Charter. Ireland has been a party to the Statute of the Court since joining the UN in 1955.

A number of other UN-related institutions and bodies are also based in The Hague.

International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals

This includes the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, which was established by the UN Security Council. The Mechanism performs a number of functions previously carried out by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia.

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the International Criminal Court

While not part of the UN system, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the International Criminal Court are international organisations that actively cooperate with the UN and are also based in The Hague.