paragraph 214 in volume 2, chapter 13, Matters of Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the link between the general political organization of international society and the functioning of the Court. It is the channel through which the law-applying organ receives its power to decide a case with binding force for the parties to that case. The question whether and to what extent the Court has jurisdiction is frequently of political importance no less than the decision on the merits, if not more. When…