International Law Development through the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinions

The Charter of the United Nations Organization establishes two main functions the International Court of Justice should perform; first, the well known contentious function, which aims to settle differences between Member States, and second, the advisory function, open to the Security Council and to the General Assembly -also to the organisms the General Assembly authorizes-. This article presents general aspects of the advisory function and its importance from a double optic: the consolidation of International Law institutions and its potential utility in the settlement of international disputes -or preventive diplomacy-; to conclude considering ways of extensive use of the advisory function in the international system. These propositions based on more of 60 years of advisory practice of the ICJ.