paragraph 215 in volume 2, chapter 13, Matters of Jurisdiction

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The fundamental principle of international law governing all these aspects is that an international tribunal is master of its own jurisdiction. This is sometimes known as the compétence de la compétence, or Kompetenz-Kompetenz and occasionally in English as competence-competence.¹ For the International Court, Article 36, paragraph 6, of the Statute formulates this principle in positive terms. It is a pivotal provision. It ensures that whenever the title of jurisdictio…