The Nature and Function of Soft Law in the Practice of the International Court of Justice

Soft law is one of the new topics in international law and the scope of its influence is expanding. Perhaps today fewer institutions can be found that do not use this tool in order to reach their goals. One of these institutions is the International Court of Justice. This paper attempts to examine the status and function of soft law in the practice of the International Court of Justice in a legal dogmatic way. The International Court of Justice has dealt with the issue of soft law in numerous cases. The Court, on the one hand, expresses the criterion of separation of soft law from the hard law and on the other hand, shows the ability to cite soft law. For this purpose, the court has, in many cases, enjoyed soft law to reinforce its arguments and to assert the opinio juris of international custom.