International Court of Justice

The Court is presided over by the Grand Dragon of Justice and the Dragon Honorarium of Justice jointly. While these two act as head judges, they are equal with the remaining 13 justices in all judgments.   The seats of the Associate Justices are as follows: 6 dragon seats, and 6 nondragon seats. The remaining seat is filled by election of the General Assembly with either a dragon or a nondragon. The dragon seats are Master Dragons and the nondragon seats are Ambassadors.   While the Court has 15 members, very rarely are cases heard before the full bench. The Court is organized into five "benches": the Criminal Bench, the Land Rights Bench, the International Claims Bench, the Advisory Bench, and the Appellate Bench. Each of the benches are composed of three judges, assigned by the Grand Dragon and Dragon Honorarium.  

The Criminal Bench

The Criminal Bench has authority to adjudicate all matters of international criminal law. The Prosecutor of the Court brings charges against individuals alleging violations of international law. These include war crimes, crimes against morality, genocide, and aggression. The judges on this bench may also issue advisory opinions on matters of international criminal law in place of the Advisory Bench, if more specialized knowledge is required. The Criminal Bench only has authority over individuals. A nation may not be prosecuted as an entity; only the people behind the atrocities can be prosecuted.

The Office of the Prosecutor of the Court

The Prosecutor of the Court is appointed by the Chancellor of the Drconic Confederacy. The Prosecutor is empowered to hire assistant prosecutors and investigators to aid in the prosecution of war criminals and perpetrators of crimes against morality.

The Land Rights Bench

The Land Rights Bench adjudicates cases regarding border disputes as well as cases involving use-of-land disputes. They will sometimes even hear cases from the druid tribes of Draconia when a nation is allegedly depriving them of certain rights to the use of land.

The International Claims Bench

The International Claims Bench hears the bulk of cases brought before the Court, including international torts, treaty disputes, and any other case that does not fall under the jurisdiction of the other benches. Some of their cases will overlap with the Criminal Bench, but the two benches' proceedings are separate.

The Advisory Bench

The Advisory Bench is unique in that it is the only bench that doesn't hear disputes. Its sole function is to provide advisory opinions to the rest of the Confederacy or to member states when called upon to answer questions of international law. These advisory opinions can overlap with the areas of concern of the other benches. For example, one nation might inquire to clarify where their border is, even if they are not in an active dispute with another nation about those borders. As another example, a nation may inquire as to whether certain military actions would constitute war crimes or whether they would be appropriate under the law of war.

The Appellate Bench

The Appellate Bench hears all appeals from the other benches. Thus, they need to be versed in all areas of international law. However, the Appellate Bench cannot hear appeals from the Advisory Bench because one cannot appeal an advisory opinion. That being said, the Appellate Bench will still sometimes rule on the validity of an advisory opinion when a nation relies on that opinion and a dispute arises. For example, a nation may rely on the Advisory Bench's statement that a certain action is not a war crime, only to find their leaders served with charges by the Office of the Prosecutor of the Court. When they go before the Criminal Bench, they might raise as a defense the fact that they were relying on the opinion of the Advisory Bench. The Criminal Bench may decide that the Advisory Bench was wrong and find the party guilty of war crimes. When the party appeals, the Appellate Bench may need to decide whether the underlying decision of the Advisory Bench was the correct interpretation of international law.

The Full Court

Cases may be brought before the full Court on appeal from the Appellate Bench. When this happens, the decision of the Court is final and binding on the parties and carries full precedential value to future decisons of the various benches. Only the Prosecutor of the Court may argue criminal cases before the full court; no assistant prosecutor may do so.   The other way that cases come before the full Court is if the Draconic Confederacy itself is a party to the dispute.