As in previous editions, this book offers all who are interested in international affairs, and the organs through which they are conducted, a guide and introduction to the International Court of Justice and how it works. The material has been completely revised and updated, and the presentation modernized. The explanation of how a case is tried has been rewritten on the basis of the Military and Paramilitary Activities In and Against Nicaragua case, which was before the Court and the Security Council and the General Assembly between 1984 and 1989, and brought in almost every procedural incident that exists. The description of the work of the Court, now the longest chapter, gives a detailed picture of its activities, which are now covering every continent of the world. Much has happened since the first edition of the book appeared in 1961, and the Court has found itself the subject of controversy in international and internal debates to an extent probably unparalleled in the history of international adjudication and the settlement of international disputes by judicial means.