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118-689: The northern boundary of the sanctuary follows the 40°S parallel of latitude except in the Indian Ocean sector where it joins the southern boundary of the Indian Ocean Whale Sanctuary at 55°S, and around South America and into the South Pacific where the boundary is at 60°S. The Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was established by the IWC in 1994 with 23 countries supporting the agreement and Japan opposing it. The status of

236-811: A candidate, and British judge Sir Christopher Greenwood being withdrawn as a candidate for election for a second nine-year term on the bench in 2017, leaving no judges from the United Kingdom on the court. Greenwood had been supported by the UN Security Council but failed to get a majority in the UN General Assembly. Indian judge Dalveer Bhandari took the seat instead. Article 6 of the Statute provides that all judges should be "elected regardless of their nationality among persons of high moral character" who are either qualified for

354-614: A court case was heard at the ICJ. The hearing ran from 26 June 2013 until 6 July 2013. In its deposition to the ICJ, the Australian government has claimed that Japan "has breached and is continuing to breach" its obligations under the international convention, and further asserted that Japan has refused to accept International Whaling Commission (IWC) recommendations. Solicitor-General of Australia Justin Gleeson appeared for Australia before

472-462: A feature on the surface is not unique: this is stressed in the ISO standard which states that "without the full specification of the coordinate reference system, coordinates (that is latitude and longitude) are ambiguous at best and meaningless at worst". This is of great importance in accurate applications, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS), but in common usage, where high accuracy is not required,

590-589: A general international organization, based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all peace-loving States, and open to membership by all such States, large and small, for the maintenance of international peace and security". The following Allied conference at Dumbarton Oaks , in the United States, published a proposal in October 1944 that called for the establishment of an intergovernmental organization that would include an international court. A meeting

708-479: A later convention. The Hague Peace Conferences, and the ideas that emerged therefrom, influenced the creation of the Central American Court of Justice , which was established in 1908 as one of the earliest regional judicial bodies. Various plans and proposals were made between 1911 and 1919 for the establishment of an international judicial tribunal, which would not be realized in the formation of

826-634: A marked reluctance on the part of a majority of the court to become involved in a dispute in such a way as to bring it potentially into conflict with the Council. The court stated in the Nicaragua case that there is no necessary inconsistency between action by the Security Council and adjudication by the ICJ. However, when there is room for conflict, the balance appears to be in favour of the Security Council. Should either party fail "to perform

944-778: A new international system following the First World War . The unprecedented bloodshed of the First World War led to the creation of the League of Nations , established by the Paris Peace Conference of 1919 as the first worldwide intergovernmental organization aimed at maintaining peace and collective security. Article 14 League's Covenant called for the establishment of a Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), which would be responsible for adjudicating any international dispute submitted to it by

1062-736: A panel of 15 judges elected by the UN General Assembly and Security Council for nine-year terms. No more than one judge of each nationality may be represented on court at the same time, and judges collectively must reflect the principal civilizations and legal systems of the world. Seated in the Peace Palace in The Hague , Netherlands, the ICJ is the only principal UN organ not located in New York City . Its official working languages are English and French. Since

1180-621: A principal organ of the new United Nations. The statute of this court would form an integral part of the United Nations Charter , which, to maintain continuity, expressly held that the Statute of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) was based upon that of the PCIJ. Consequently, the PCIJ convened for the last time in October 1945 and resolved to transfer its archives to its successor, which would take its place at

1298-406: A professional nature." In addition, Article 17 requires that judges do not show any prior biases on cases before them, specifically, "No member may participate in the decision of any case in which he has previously taken part as agent, counsel, or advocate for one of the parties, or as a member of a national or international court, or of a commission of enquiry, or in any other capacity." Judges of

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1416-562: A relevant legal body for analysis. This proposal was rejected by a majority of IWC members. On 31 May 2010, the Australian Government lodged formal proceedings against Japan in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague , Netherlands . In a joint ministerial statement, the government stated that it "has not taken this decision lightly." On 5 January 2011, leaked US diplomatic cables revealed that

1534-526: A request, the court decides which states and organizations might provide useful information and gives them an opportunity to present written or oral statements. Advisory opinions were intended as a means by which UN agencies could seek the court's help in deciding complex legal issues that might fall under their respective mandates. In principle, the court's advisory opinions are only consultative in character but they are influential and widely respected. Certain instruments or regulations can provide in advance that

1652-441: A rotating self-gravitating fluid body in equilibrium takes the form of an oblate ellipsoid. (This article uses the term ellipsoid in preference to the older term spheroid .) Newton's result was confirmed by geodetic measurements in the 18th century. (See Meridian arc .) An oblate ellipsoid is the three-dimensional surface generated by the rotation of an ellipse about its shorter axis (minor axis). "Oblate ellipsoid of revolution"

1770-424: A state knows that it will have a judicial officer who can participate in deliberation and offer other judges local knowledge and an understanding of the state's perspective, it may be more willing to submit to the jurisdiction of the court. Although this system does not sit well with the judicial nature of the body, it is usually of little practical consequence. Ad hoc judges usually (but not always) vote in favour of

1888-555: A synonym for geodetic latitude whilst others use it as an alternative to the astronomical latitude . "Latitude" (unqualified) should normally refer to the geodetic latitude. The importance of specifying the reference datum may be illustrated by a simple example. On the reference ellipsoid for WGS84, the centre of the Eiffel Tower has a geodetic latitude of 48° 51′ 29″ N, or 48.8583° N and longitude of 2° 17′ 40″ E or 2.2944°E. The same coordinates on

2006-669: A thread". On 31 March 2014 the ICJ ruled that Japan's JARPA II whaling program "can broadly be characterized as 'scientific research'" but failed to comply with three provisions of the Schedule to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. The Court ordered that "Japan revoke any extant authorization, permit or licence to kill, take or treat whales in relation to JARPA II, and refrain from granting any further permits under Article VIII, paragraph 1, of

2124-579: A unanimous vote of the other members of the court. Despite these provisions, the independence of ICJ judges has been questioned. For example, during the Nicaragua case , the United States issued a communiqué suggesting that it could not present sensitive material to the court because of the presence of judges from the Soviet bloc. Judges may deliver joint judgments or give their own separate opinions. Decisions and advisory opinions are by majority, and, in

2242-443: Is abbreviated to 'ellipsoid' in the remainder of this article. (Ellipsoids which do not have an axis of symmetry are termed triaxial .) Many different reference ellipsoids have been used in the history of geodesy . In pre-satellite days they were devised to give a good fit to the geoid over the limited area of a survey but, with the advent of GPS , it has become natural to use reference ellipsoids (such as WGS84 ) with centre at

2360-411: Is also used in the current literature. The parametric latitude is related to the geodetic latitude by: The alternative name arises from the parameterization of the equation of the ellipse describing a meridian section. In terms of Cartesian coordinates p , the distance from the minor axis, and z , the distance above the equatorial plane, the equation of the ellipse is: The Cartesian coordinates of

2478-683: Is discussed more fully in the article on axial tilt . The figure shows the geometry of a cross-section of the plane perpendicular to the ecliptic and through the centres of the Earth and the Sun at the December solstice when the Sun is overhead at some point of the Tropic of Capricorn . The south polar latitudes below the Antarctic Circle are in daylight, whilst the north polar latitudes above

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2596-403: Is entitled to participate in cases before the court. However, being a party to the statute does not automatically give the court jurisdiction over disputes involving those parties. The issue of jurisdiction is considered in the three types of ICJ cases: contentious issues, incidental jurisdiction, and advisory opinions. In contentious cases (adversarial proceedings seeking to settle a dispute),

2714-406: Is not designed to answer scientific questions relevant to the management of whales; that Japan refuses to make the information it collects available for independent review; and that its research program lacks testable hypotheses or other performance indicators consistent with accepted scientific standards". They accused Japan of "using the pretense of scientific research to evade its commitments to

2832-421: Is the meridional radius of curvature . The quarter meridian distance from the equator to the pole is For WGS84 this distance is 10 001 .965 729  km . The evaluation of the meridian distance integral is central to many studies in geodesy and map projection. It can be evaluated by expanding the integral by the binomial series and integrating term by term: see Meridian arc for details. The length of

2950-488: The Equator . Lines of constant latitude , or parallels , run east–west as circles parallel to the equator. Latitude and longitude are used together as a coordinate pair to specify a location on the surface of the Earth. On its own, the term "latitude" normally refers to the geodetic latitude as defined below. Briefly, the geodetic latitude of a point is the angle formed between the vector perpendicular (or normal ) to

3068-755: The Second World War , the League and the PCIJ were replaced by the United Nations and ICJ, respectively. The Statute of the ICJ , which sets forth its purpose and structure, draws heavily from that of its predecessor, whose decisions remain valid. All member states of the UN are party to the ICJ Statute and may initiate contentious legal cases ; however, advisory proceedings may be submitted only by certain UN organs and agencies . The ICJ consists of

3186-600: The UN Security Council from a list of people nominated by the national groups in the Permanent Court of Arbitration . The election process is set out in Articles 4–19 of the ICJ Statute. Elections are staggered, with five judges elected every three years to ensure continuity within the court. Should a judge die in office, the practice has generally been to elect a judge in a special election to complete

3304-541: The University of Oslo and a former Norwegian Commissioner to the Whaling Commission was presented by Japan as its sole expert witness. During the week beginning 8 July 2013, New Zealand delivered its intervention, in which it provided a history of the origin of the 1946 Whaling Convention and Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus affirmed that his nation had not "colluded" with New Zealand to launch

3422-547: The World Court , is the only international court that adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on international legal issues. It is one of the six organs of the United Nations (UN), and is located in The Hague, Netherlands . The ICJ is the successor of the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), which was established in 1920 by the League of Nations . After

3540-416: The figure of the Earth together with its gravitational field is the science of geodesy . The graticule is formed by the lines of constant latitude and constant longitude, which are constructed with reference to the rotation axis of the Earth. The primary reference points are the poles where the axis of rotation of the Earth intersects the reference surface. Planes which contain the rotation axis intersect

3658-574: The Arctic Circle are in night. The situation is reversed at the June solstice, when the Sun is overhead at the Tropic of Cancer. Only at latitudes in between the two tropics is it possible for the Sun to be directly overhead (at the zenith ). On map projections there is no universal rule as to how meridians and parallels should appear. The examples below show the named parallels (as red lines) on

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3776-546: The Australian legal challenge to Japanese whaling was heavily influenced by domestic political pressures and Australian government advisers were left deeply pessimistic about the prospects of success in the International Court. In its reports to Washington, the US Embassy reported that Australian government contacts were stating that the legal proceedings "... would be unlikely to stop the whale hunt entirely, but could well force modifications that would make it more difficult for

3894-471: The Convention, in pursuance of that programme". The court's judges agreed with Australia that the number of Japanese scientific research publications were not proportionate to the number of animals killed. Two former Australian Environment ministers, Peter Garrett and Ian Campbell , among other Australian politicians applauded the decision and stated their hopes that Japan will respect it. The decision of

4012-540: The Earth: it may be adapted to cover the Moon, planets and other celestial objects ( planetographic latitude ). For a brief history, see History of latitude . In celestial navigation , latitude is determined with the meridian altitude method. More precise measurement of latitude requires an understanding of the gravitational field of the Earth, either to set up theodolites or to determine GPS satellite orbits. The study of

4130-495: The General Assembly or the Security Council the power to request the court to issue an advisory opinion on any legal question. Organs of the UN other than the General Assembly or the Security Council require the General Assembly's authorization to request an advisory opinion of the ICJ. These organs of the UN only request an advisory opinion regarding the matters that fall within the scope of their activities. On receiving

4248-556: The ICJ and the Security Council , and the separation of their powers, was considered by the court in 1992 in the Pan Am case . The court had to consider an application from Libya for the order of provisional measures of protection to safeguard its rights, which, it alleged, were being infringed by the threat of economic sanctions by the United Kingdom and United States. The problem was that these sanctions had been authorized by

4366-400: The ICJ is final and the right of appeal does not apply in this context; Japan said it would abide by the decision. Latitude In geography , latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north – south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pole, with 0° at

4484-480: The ICJ proceedings. Dreyfus concluded Australia's contribution by emphasising the friendship shared by Australia and Japan, and stated: "Australia respectfully requests the Court to bring Japan's whaling program to an end." The ICJ hearing concluded on 16 July 2013. In Japan's final presentation Professor Payam Akhavan of Harvard University stated: "it would not be an exaggeration to say that Australia's case now hangs by

4602-449: The ICJ produces a binding ruling between states that agree to submit to the ruling of the court. Only states may be parties in contentious cases; individuals, corporations, component parts of a federal state, NGOs, UN organs, and self-determination groups are excluded from direct participation, although the court may receive information from public international organizations . However, this does not preclude non-state interests from being

4720-566: The ICJ, the PCIJ was not part of the league, nor were members of the league automatically a party to its Statute. The United States, which played a key role in both the second Hague Peace Conference and the Paris Peace Conference, was notably not a member of the league. However, several of its nationals served as judges of the court. From its first session in 1922 until 1940, the PCIJ dealt with 29 interstate disputes and issued 27 advisory opinions. The court's widespread acceptance

4838-515: The ICJ. The ICJ's 16-judge bench received and then decided upon the case. Rothwell stated that the case "is a complex one which raises novel legal issues not previously considered by any international court". Tony Press, CEO of the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre at the University of Tasmania , Australia, provided weekly reports of the ICJ hearings for The Conversation Australia media publication. Following

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4956-543: The ICRW, which states that the creation of any sanctuary must "be based on scientific findings" and "take into consideration the interests of the consumers of whale products and the whaling industry". Prof Burke's interpretation is disputed by Prof Chris Wold of the Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College, who argued that the IWC must maintain both the conservation and whaling industry objectives of

5074-470: The ICRW. This view is supported by Alexander Gillespie, Professor of Law at the University of Waikato, who reasoned in his 2006 book, Whaling Diplomacy, that phrases such as "best interests of the whaling industry" must now consider commercial non-consumptive use (such as whale watching). As there is no settlement procedure in the IWC for this type of dispute, Japan has asked the IWC to submit its case to

5192-761: The IWC charter, arguing that Japan's self-imposed annual quota of 1000 whale kills for research is not really scientific activity, but rather a veil to cover commercial fishing operations as whale meat ends up being sold in Japanese markets. In an open letter to the Japanese government, published in 2002 in The New York Times and sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) , 21 scientists declared that they "believe Japan's whale 'research' program fails to meet minimum standards for credible science ". They were "concerned that Japan's whaling program

5310-501: The International Court of Justice , similar to that of its predecessor, is the main constitutional document constituting and regulating the court. The court's workload covers a wide range of judicial activity. After the court ruled that the United States 's covert war against Nicaragua was in violation of international law ( Nicaragua v. United States ), the United States withdrew from compulsory jurisdiction in 1986 to accept

5428-514: The International Court of Justice are entitled to the style of His/Her Excellency. Judges are not able to hold any other post or act as counsel. In practice, members of the court have their own interpretation of these rules and many have chosen to remain involved in outside arbitration and hold professional posts as long as there is no conflict of interest. Former judge Bruno Simma and current judge Georg Nolte have acknowledged that moonlighting should be restricted. A judge can be dismissed only by

5546-538: The Japanese whaling fleet's actions to be illegal, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society acts against Japanese whaling ships engaged in yearly hunts, attempting to interrupt or cut short the whaling activities. The ICR considers the activists' methods as constituting piracy, terrorism, and illegal harassment of the ICR fleet. Critics of the ICR point out that recent scientific advances allow for

5664-440: The Japanese". The Australian public overwhelmingly supports governmental efforts to stop Japanese whaling, even at risk of losing valuable trade relations. The New Zealand government lodged a "Declaration of Intervention" with the ICJ on 6 February 2013, in which it deemed Japan as ineligible for a Special Permit that would allow whaling on the basis of scientific research. As a result of the Australian government's 2010 application,

5782-728: The Northwest Pacific survey (JARPN II), with a quota for 260 whales, including 100 Minkes. Japan has argued that the establishment of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was in contravention of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW) on which the IWC is based and is therefore illegal. This view received strong support from Professor W. T. Burke of the University of Washington in his paper circulated as IWC Document Number IWC/48/33. He refers to Article V(2) of

5900-668: The Peace Palace. The judges of the PCIJ all resigned on 31 January 1946, with the election of the first members of the ICJ taking place the following February at the First Session of the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council . In April 1946, the PCIJ was formally dissolved, and the ICJ, in its first meeting, was elected President José Gustavo Guerrero of El Salvador, who had served as

6018-556: The Sanctuary in accordance with a provision in the IWC charter permitting whaling for the purposes of scientific research . Japan clarified its position on whaling in a number of forums, noting that while some whale species are threatened, many such as minke whale are not. Some conservation groups such as the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society claim Japan's whaling operations are conducted in violation of

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6136-474: The Security Council, which resulted in a potential conflict between the Chapter VII functions of the Security Council and the judicial function of the court. The court decided, by eleven votes to five, that it could not order the requested provisional measures because the rights claimed by Libya, even if legitimate under the 1971 Montreal Convention , could not be prima facie regarded as appropriate since

6254-529: The Southern Ocean Sanctuary is reviewed and open to change by the IWC every 10 years. During the 2004 meeting a proposal was made by Japan to remove the sanctuary, but it failed to reach the 75% majority required (it received 25 votes in favour and 30 votes against with two abstentions). While commercial whaling is prohibited in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) has continued to hunt whales inside

6372-571: The WGS84 spheroid is The variation of this distance with latitude (on WGS84 ) is shown in the table along with the length of a degree of longitude (east–west distance): A calculator for any latitude is provided by the U.S. Government's National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). The following graph illustrates the variation of both a degree of latitude and a degree of longitude with latitude. There are six auxiliary latitudes that have applications to special problems in geodesy, geophysics and

6490-515: The action was ordered by the Security Council. In accordance with Article 103 of the UN Charter, obligations under the Charter took precedence over other treaty obligations. Nevertheless, the court declared the application admissible in 1998. A decision on the merits has not been given since the parties (United Kingdom, United States, and Libya) settled the case out of court in 2003. There was

6608-421: The advisory opinion shall be specifically binding on particular agencies or states, but inherently they are non-binding under the Statute of the court. This non-binding character does not mean that advisory opinions are without legal effect, because the legal reasoning embodied in them reflects the court's authoritative views on important issues of international law. In arriving at them, the court follows essentially

6726-425: The angle subtended at the centre by the meridian arc from the equator to the point concerned. If the meridian distance is denoted by m ( ϕ ) then where R denotes the mean radius of the Earth. R is equal to 6,371 km or 3,959 miles. No higher accuracy is appropriate for R since higher-precision results necessitate an ellipsoid model. With this value for R the meridian length of 1 degree of latitude on

6844-558: The bench. In 2023, judges elected to take office from 2024 did not include a Russian member, so for the first time, from 2024 there will be no member from the Commonwealth of Independent States . This is also the first time that Russia would not have a judge on the ICJ, even going back to its predecessor, the Soviet Union. Article 31 of the statute sets out a procedure whereby ad hoc judges sit on contentious cases before

6962-465: The case unless the court appointed judges to the chamber acceptable to the parties. Judgments of chambers may have either less authority than full Court judgments or diminish the proper interpretation of universal international law informed by a variety of cultural and legal perspectives. On the other hand, the use of chambers might encourage greater recourse to the court and thus enhance international dispute resolution . As of 6 February 2024 ,

7080-506: The centre of mass of the Earth and minor axis aligned to the rotation axis of the Earth. These geocentric ellipsoids are usually within 100 m (330 ft) of the geoid. Since latitude is defined with respect to an ellipsoid, the position of a given point is different on each ellipsoid: one cannot exactly specify the latitude and longitude of a geographical feature without specifying the ellipsoid used. Many maps maintained by national agencies are based on older ellipsoids, so one must know how

7198-582: The commonly used Mercator projection and the Transverse Mercator projection . On the former the parallels are horizontal and the meridians are vertical, whereas on the latter there is no exact relationship of parallels and meridians with horizontal and vertical: both are complicated curves. \ In 1687 Isaac Newton published the Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica , in which he proved that

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7316-456: The composition of the court is as follows: As stated in Article 93 of the UN Charter, all 193 UN members are automatically parties to the court's statute. Non-UN members may also become parties to the court's statute under the Article 93(2) procedure, which was used by Switzerland in 1948 and Nauru in 1988, prior to either joining the UN. Once a state is a party to the court's statute, it

7434-502: The contesting parties, as well as to provide an advisory opinion upon any dispute or question referred to it by the League of Nations. In December 1920, following several drafts and debates, the Assembly of the league unanimously adopted the statute of the PCIJ, which was signed and ratified the following year by a majority of members. Among other things, the new Statute resolved the contentious issues of selecting judges by providing that

7552-399: The court may have jurisdiction on the basis of tacit consent ( forum prorogatum ). In the absence of clear jurisdiction under Article 36, jurisdiction is established if the respondent accepts ICJ jurisdiction explicitly or simply pleads on the merits . This arose in the 1949 Corfu Channel Case (U.K. v. Albania), in which the court held that a letter from Albania stating that it submitted to

7670-483: The court to indicate interim measures. Incidental jurisdiction of the court derives from the Article 41 of its Statute. Similar to the final judgment, the order for interim measures of the court are binding on state parties to the dispute. The ICJ has competence to indicate interim measures only if the prima facie jurisdiction is satisfied. An advisory opinion is a function of the court open only to specified United Nations bodies and agencies. The UN Charter grants

7788-564: The court's decision before the Security Council. Furthermore, if the Security Council refuses to enforce a judgment against any other state, there is no method of forcing the state to comply. Furthermore, the most effective form to take action for the Security Council, coercive action under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter , can be justified only if international peace and security are at stake. The Security Council has never done that so far. The relationship between

7906-736: The court's history, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (France, USSR, China, the United Kingdom, and the United States) have always had a judge serving, thereby occupying three of the Western seats, one of the Asian seats and one of the Eastern European seats. Exceptions have been China not having a judge on the court from 1967 to 1985, during which time it did not put forward

8024-419: The court's jurisdiction only on a discretionary basis. Chapter XIV of the United Nations Charter authorizes the UN Security Council to enforce Court rulings. However, such enforcement is subject to the veto power of the five permanent members of the council, which the United States used in the Nicaragua case. The ICJ is composed of fifteen judges elected to nine-year terms by the UN General Assembly and

8142-433: The court. The system allows any party to a contentious case (if it otherwise does not have one of that party's nationals sitting on the court) to select one additional person to sit as a judge on that case only. It is thus possible that as many as seventeen judges may sit on one case. The system may seem strange when compared with domestic court processes, but its purpose is to encourage states to submit cases. For example, if

8260-408: The datum ED50 define a point on the ground which is 140 metres (460 feet) distant from the tower. A web search may produce several different values for the latitude of the tower; the reference ellipsoid is rarely specified. The length of a degree of latitude depends on the figure of the Earth assumed. On the sphere the normal passes through the centre and the latitude ( ϕ ) is therefore equal to

8378-435: The defining values for the WGS84 ellipsoid, used by all GPS devices, are from which are derived The difference between the semi-major and semi-minor axes is about 21 km (13 miles) and as fraction of the semi-major axis it equals the flattening; on a computer monitor the ellipsoid could be sized as 300 by 299 pixels. This would barely be distinguishable from a 300-by-300-pixel sphere, so illustrations usually exaggerate

8496-412: The ecliptic and the equatorial plane is called variously the axial tilt, the obliquity, or the inclination of the ecliptic, and it is conventionally denoted by i . The latitude of the tropical circles is equal to i and the latitude of the polar circles is its complement (90° - i ). The axis of rotation varies slowly over time and the values given here are those for the current epoch . The time variation

8614-402: The ellipsoid to that point Q on the surrounding sphere (of radius a ) which is the projection parallel to the Earth's axis of a point P on the ellipsoid at latitude ϕ . It was introduced by Legendre and Bessel who solved problems for geodesics on the ellipsoid by transforming them to an equivalent problem for spherical geodesics by using this smaller latitude. Bessel's notation, u ( ϕ ) ,

8732-449: The ellipsoidal surface from the point, and the plane of the equator . Two levels of abstraction are employed in the definitions of latitude and longitude. In the first step the physical surface is modeled by the geoid , a surface which approximates the mean sea level over the oceans and its continuation under the land masses. The second step is to approximate the geoid by a mathematically simpler reference surface. The simplest choice for

8850-458: The entry of its first case on 22 May 1947, the ICJ has entertained 191 cases through 13 November 2023. Pursuant to Article 59 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice , the court's rulings and opinions are binding on the parties with respect to the particular case ruled on by the court. The first permanent institution established for the purpose of settling international disputes

8968-461: The equatorial radius, which is the semi-major axis , a . The other parameter is usually (1) the polar radius or semi-minor axis , b ; or (2) the (first) flattening , f ; or (3) the eccentricity , e . These parameters are not independent: they are related by Many other parameters (see ellipse , ellipsoid ) appear in the study of geodesy, geophysics and map projections but they can all be expressed in terms of one or two members of

9086-631: The event of an equal division, the president's vote becomes decisive, which occurred in the Legality of the Use by a State of Nuclear Weapons in Armed Conflict (Opinion requested by WHO), [1996] ICJ Reports 66. Judges may also deliver separate dissenting opinions. In its 77 years of history, only five women have been elected to the Court, with former UN Special Rapporteur Philip Alston calling for states to take seriously questions of representation in

9204-497: The flattening. The graticule on the ellipsoid is constructed in exactly the same way as on the sphere. The normal at a point on the surface of an ellipsoid does not pass through the centre, except for points on the equator or at the poles, but the definition of latitude remains unchanged as the angle between the normal and the equatorial plane. The terminology for latitude must be made more precise by distinguishing: Geographic latitude must be used with care, as some authors use it as

9322-466: The formation of ad hoc chambers to hear particular disputes. In 1993, a special chamber was established, under Article 26(1) of the ICJ statute, to deal specifically with environmental matters (although it has never been used). Ad hoc chambers are more frequently convened. For example, chambers were used to hear the Gulf of Maine Case (Canada/US). In that case, the parties made clear they would withdraw

9440-399: The geocentric latitude ( θ ) and the geodetic latitude ( ϕ ) is: For points not on the surface of the ellipsoid, the relationship involves additionally the ellipsoidal height h : where N is the prime vertical radius of curvature. The geodetic and geocentric latitudes are equal at the equator and at the poles but at other latitudes they differ by a few minutes of arc. Taking the value of

9558-445: The highest judicial office in their home states or known as lawyers with sufficient competence in international law. Judicial independence is dealt with specifically in Articles 16–18. To insure impartiality, Article 16 of the Charter requires independence from their national governments or other interested parties, stating, "No member of the Court may exercise any political or administrative function, or engage in any other occupation of

9676-517: The institutional and procedural framework for arbitral proceedings, which would take place in The Hague, Netherlands . Although the proceedings would be supported by a permanent bureau—whose functions would be equivalent to that of a secretariat or court registry—the arbitrators would be appointed by the disputing states from a larger pool provided by each member of the convention. The PCA was established in 1900 and began proceedings in 1902. A second Hague Peace Conference in 1907, which involved most of

9794-435: The issue may be taken before the Security Council for enforcement action. There are obvious problems with such a method of enforcement. If the judgment is against one of the five permanent members of the Security Council or its allies, any resolution on enforcement could then be vetoed by that member. That occurred, for example, after the Nicaragua case , when Nicaragua brought the issue of the United States' noncompliance with

9912-492: The judges be elected by both the council and the Assembly of the league concurrently but independently. The makeup of the PCIJ would reflect the "main forms of civilization and the principal legal systems of the world". The PCIJ would be permanently placed at the Peace Palace in The Hague, alongside Permanent Court of Arbitration. The PCIJ represented a major innovation in international jurisprudence in several ways: Unlike

10030-490: The jurisdiction of the ICJ was sufficient to grant the court jurisdiction. Until rendering a final judgment, the court has competence to order interim measures for the protection of the rights of a party to a dispute. One or both parties to a dispute may apply the ICJ for issuing interim measures. In the Frontier Dispute Case, both parties to the dispute, Burkina Faso and Mali , submitted an application to

10148-624: The last president of the PCIJ. The court also appointed members of its Registry, mainly drawn from that of the PCIJ, and held an inaugural public sitting later that month. The first case was submitted in May 1947 by the United Kingdom against Albania concerning incidents in the Corfu Channel . Established in 1945 by the UN Charter , the court began work in 1946 as the successor to the Permanent Court of International Justice . The Statute of

10266-405: The latitude and longitude values are transformed from one ellipsoid to another. GPS handsets include software to carry out datum transformations which link WGS84 to the local reference ellipsoid with its associated grid. The shape of an ellipsoid of revolution is determined by the shape of the ellipse which is rotated about its minor (shorter) axis. Two parameters are required. One is invariably

10384-538: The meridian arc between two given latitudes is given by replacing the limits of the integral by the latitudes concerned. The length of a small meridian arc is given by When the latitude difference is 1 degree, corresponding to ⁠ π / 180 ⁠ radians, the arc distance is about The distance in metres (correct to 0.01 metre) between latitudes ϕ {\displaystyle \phi }  − 0.5 degrees and ϕ {\displaystyle \phi }  + 0.5 degrees on

10502-439: The obligations incumbent upon it under a judgment rendered by the Court", the Security Council may be called upon to "make recommendations or decide upon measures" if the Security Council deems such actions necessary. In practice, the court's powers have been limited by the unwillingness of the losing party to abide by the court's ruling and by the Security Council's unwillingness to impose consequences. However, in theory, "so far as

10620-551: The parallels. The Equator has a latitude of 0°, the North Pole has a latitude of 90° North (written 90° N or +90°), and the South Pole has a latitude of 90° South (written 90° S or −90°). The latitude of an arbitrary point is the angle between the equatorial plane and the normal to the surface at that point: the normal to the surface of the sphere is along the radial vector. The latitude, as defined in this way for

10738-484: The parties to the case are concerned, a judgment of the Court is binding, final and without appeal", and "by signing the Charter, a State Member of the United Nations undertakes to comply with any decision of the International Court of Justice in a case to which it is a party." For example, the United States had previously accepted the court's compulsory jurisdiction upon its creation in 1946 but in 1984, after Nicaragua v. United States , withdrew its acceptance following

10856-608: The point are parameterized by Cayley suggested the term parametric latitude because of the form of these equations. The parametric latitude is not used in the theory of map projections. Its most important application is in the theory of ellipsoid geodesics, ( Vincenty , Karney ). The rectifying latitude , μ , is the meridian distance scaled so that its value at the poles is equal to 90 degrees or ⁠ π / 2 ⁠ radians: International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice ( ICJ ; French: Cour internationale de justice , CIJ ), or colloquially

10974-508: The precise meaning of "main forms of civilization" is contested. There is an informal understanding that the seats will be distributed by geographic regions so that there are five seats for Western countries, three for African states (including one judge of Francophone civil law, one of Anglophone common law and one Arab), two for Eastern European states, three for Asian states and two for Latin American and Caribbean states. For most of

11092-528: The reference ellipsoid is not usually stated. In English texts, the latitude angle, defined below, is usually denoted by the Greek lower-case letter phi ( ϕ or φ ). It is measured in degrees , minutes and seconds or decimal degrees , north or south of the equator. For navigational purposes positions are given in degrees and decimal minutes. For instance, The Needles lighthouse is at 50°39.734′ N 001°35.500′ W. This article relates to coordinate systems for

11210-509: The reference ellipsoid to the plane or in calculations of geodesics on the ellipsoid. Their numerical values are not of interest. For example, no one would need to calculate the authalic latitude of the Eiffel Tower. The expressions below give the auxiliary latitudes in terms of the geodetic latitude, the semi-major axis, a , and the eccentricity, e . (For inverses see below .) The forms given are, apart from notational variants, those in

11328-406: The reference surface is a sphere , but the geoid is more accurately modeled by an ellipsoid of revolution . The definitions of latitude and longitude on such reference surfaces are detailed in the following sections. Lines of constant latitude and longitude together constitute a graticule on the reference surface. The latitude of a point on the actual surface is that of the corresponding point on

11446-401: The reference surface, the correspondence being along the normal to the reference surface, which passes through the point on the physical surface. Latitude and longitude together with some specification of height constitute a geographic coordinate system as defined in the specification of the ISO 19111 standard. Since there are many different reference ellipsoids , the precise latitude of

11564-402: The same rules and procedures that govern its binding judgments delivered in contentious cases submitted to it by sovereign states. An advisory opinion derives its status and authority from the fact that it is the official pronouncement of the principal judicial organ of the United Nations. Advisory opinions have often been controversial because the questions asked are controversial or the case

11682-491: The second week, Press relayed that Japan articulated in certain terms its intentions in the Southern Ocean: "the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry", further explaining that a whale must be killed to obtain certain types of information, such as the collection of ear plugs to estimate the age of a whale. During the second week, Professor Lars Walløe, of

11800-451: The set a , b , f and e . Both f and e are small and often appear in series expansions in calculations; they are of the order ⁠ 1 / 298 ⁠ and 0.0818 respectively. Values for a number of ellipsoids are given in Figure of the Earth . Reference ellipsoids are usually defined by the semi-major axis and the inverse flattening, ⁠ 1 / f ⁠ . For example,

11918-420: The sphere is 111.2 km (69.1 statute miles) (60.0 nautical miles). The length of one minute of latitude is 1.853 km (1.151 statute miles) (1.00 nautical miles), while the length of 1 second of latitude is 30.8 m or 101 feet (see nautical mile ). In Meridian arc and standard texts it is shown that the distance along a meridian from latitude ϕ to the equator is given by ( ϕ in radians) where M ( ϕ )

12036-416: The sphere, is often termed the spherical latitude, to avoid ambiguity with the geodetic latitude and the auxiliary latitudes defined in subsequent sections of this article. Besides the equator, four other parallels are of significance: The plane of the Earth's orbit about the Sun is called the ecliptic , and the plane perpendicular to the rotation axis of the Earth is the equatorial plane. The angle between

12154-403: The squared eccentricity as 0.0067 (it depends on the choice of ellipsoid) the maximum difference of ϕ − θ {\displaystyle \phi {-}\theta } may be shown to be about 11.5 minutes of arc at a geodetic latitude of approximately 45° 6′. The parametric latitude or reduced latitude , β , is defined by the radius drawn from the centre of

12272-458: The standard reference for map projections, namely "Map projections: a working manual" by J. P. Snyder. Derivations of these expressions may be found in Adams and online publications by Osborne and Rapp. The geocentric latitude is the angle between the equatorial plane and the radius from the centre to a point of interest. When the point is on the surface of the ellipsoid, the relation between

12390-400: The state that appointed them and thus cancel each other out. Generally, the court sits as full bench, but in the last fifteen years, it has on occasion sat as a chamber. Articles 26–29 of the statute allow the court to form smaller chambers, usually 3 or 5 judges, to hear cases. Two types of chambers are contemplated by Article 26: firstly, chambers for special categories of cases, and second,

12508-423: The subject of proceedings; for example, a state may bring a case on behalf of one of its nationals or corporations, such as in matters concerning diplomatic protection. Jurisdiction is often a crucial question for the court in contentious cases. The key principle is that the ICJ has jurisdiction only on the basis of consent. Under Article 36, there are four foundations for the court's jurisdiction: Additionally,

12626-504: The surface at the meridians ; and the angle between any one meridian plane and that through Greenwich (the Prime Meridian ) defines the longitude: meridians are lines of constant longitude. The plane through the centre of the Earth and perpendicular to the rotation axis intersects the surface at a great circle called the Equator . Planes parallel to the equatorial plane intersect the surface in circles of constant latitude; these are

12744-510: The term. Historically, deceased judges have been replaced by judges from the same region, though not —as often wrongly asserted— necessarily from the same nationality. Article 3 states that no two judges may be nationals of the same country. According to Article 9, the membership of the court is supposed to represent the "main forms of civilization and of the principal legal systems of the world". This has been interpreted to include common law , civil law , socialist law , and Islamic law , while

12862-407: The theory of map projections: The definitions given in this section all relate to locations on the reference ellipsoid but the first two auxiliary latitudes, like the geodetic latitude, can be extended to define a three-dimensional geographic coordinate system as discussed below . The remaining latitudes are not used in this way; they are used only as intermediate constructs in map projections of

12980-632: The two-thirds majority in the Senate required for a treaty. Following a peak of activity in 1933, the PCIJ began to decline in its activities due to the growing international tension and isolationism that characterized the era. The Second World War effectively put an end to the court, which held its last public session in December 1939 and issued its last orders in February 1940. In 1942 the United States and United Kingdom jointly declared support for establishing or re-establishing an international court after

13098-425: The use of non-lethal techniques in cetacean research, such as biopsies or determination of cetacean dietary intake through analysis of DNA samples from whale feces. During the 2010/2011 whaling season, the ICR was forced to halt its whaling operations due to the actions of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, having harvested 172 whales (a fifth of their season quota). The ICR dispatched its whaling fleet as usual to

13216-503: The war, and in 1943, the U.K. chaired a panel of jurists from around the world, the "Inter-Allied Committee", to discuss the matter. Its 1944 report recommended that: Several months later at the Moscow conference in 1943 , the major Allied Powers— China , the USSR , the U.K. , and the U.S. —issued a joint declaration recognizing the necessity "of establishing at the earliest practicable date

13334-399: The world community". The Australian delegation to the IWC has argued to repeal the provision that allows nations to harvest whales for scientific research, to no effect. Japan, meanwhile, lodged a formal objection to the sanctuary with regard to minke whales , meaning that the terms of the sanctuary do not apply to its harvest of that species within the boundaries of the sanctuary. Claiming

13452-455: The world's sovereign states , revised the convention and enhanced the rules governing arbitral proceedings before the PCA. During this conference, the United States, Great Britain and Germany submitted a joint proposal for a permanent court whose judges would serve full-time. As the delegates could not agree how the judges would be selected, the matter was shelved pending an agreement to be adopted at

13570-557: Was pursued as an indirect way of bringing what is really a contentious case before the court. Examples of advisory opinions can be found in the section advisory opinions in the List of International Court of Justice cases article. One such well-known advisory opinion is the Nuclear Weapons Case . Article 94 establishes the duty of all UN members to comply with decisions of the court involving them. If parties do not comply,

13688-511: Was reflected by the fact that several hundred international treaties and agreements conferred jurisdiction upon it over specified categories of disputes. In addition to helping resolve several serious international disputes, the PCIJ helped clarify several ambiguities in international law that contributed to its development. The United States played a major role in setting up the PCIJ but never joined. Presidents Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, and Roosevelt all supported membership, but did not get

13806-645: Was subsequently convened in Washington, D.C., in April 1945, involving 44 jurists from around the world to draft a statute for the proposed court. The draft statute was substantially similar to that of the PCIJ, and it was questioned whether a new court should even be created. During the San Francisco Conference , which took place from 25 April to 26 June 1945 and involved 50 countries, it was decided that an entirely new court should be established as

13924-711: Was the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), which was created by the Hague Peace Conference of 1899. Initiated by the Russian Tsar Nicholas II , the conference involved all the world's major powers, as well as several smaller states, and resulted in the first multilateral treaties concerned with the conduct of warfare. Among these was the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes , which set forth

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