Greeting Delegates, 

 

Welcome to the first edition of the International Court of Justice at NIMUN XVI. It is an honour to serve as your President of this Court. 

 

The law runs slower than conflict. A targeting system chooses a strike; a strait is closed, and aid convoys are turned back; the Arctic ice retreats and states begin pressing claims on a seabed that nobody once wanted. The treaties governing these situations were written for another time, and the gap between the letter of the law and what the world is doing has never been wider. This Court exists in that very gap, where the difficulty is rarely knowing what happened, but proving who is answerable for it. 

 

You will appear before the Bench as Agents and Counsel for the Applicant and Respondent, carrying your state’s case from the opening submission to the final defence. Your introductory session begins with cases presented before the Court at The Hague. After that, the record runs out, and whatever the Court holds on those questions, it holds for the first time. 

 

You are here to advocate for your state. But you are also here to serve the law, and the two are not always the same thing. Argue firmly, but fairly. And remember, the finest advocates dismantle one another’s arguments and remain colleagues when the Court rises. 

 

Welcome to the Court, where your argument, not your alliances, decides the outcome.

 

Riyana Patel

President of the Court

International Court of Justice

NIMUN XVI