What is the total number of judges who sit on the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations?

Introduction / Context:
The International Court of Justice (ICJ), also called the World Court, is the main judicial organ of the United Nations. It settles legal disputes between states and gives advisory opinions on legal questions. A basic but important fact tested in competitive exams is the number of judges who serve on the ICJ bench at any one time.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The institution is the International Court of Justice.
• The options for the number of judges are 10, 12, 15 and 18.
• We assume the standard composition defined in the Statute of the ICJ.
• The question asks for total judges, not just a regional grouping.

Concept / Approach:
The Statute of the International Court of Justice provides that the Court shall consist of 15 members. These judges are elected for nine year terms by the UN General Assembly and the Security Council. Therefore, any answer other than 15 is inconsistent with the Charter provisions and standard reference sources.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that the ICJ is composed of a fixed number of judges elected from different regions of the world.Step 2: From standard general knowledge, remember the expression “15 judges of the ICJ”.Step 3: Check the options and locate “15” among them, which appears as option c.Step 4: Note that other numbers such as 10, 12 and 18 are not standard composition figures.Step 5: Conclude that the correct number of ICJ judges is 15 and select option c.

Verification / Alternative check:
A quick verification method is to recall that the ICJ also has staggered elections, where one third of the 15 judges (that is 5 judges) are elected every three years. This pattern only makes sense if the total is exactly 15. Another check is to associate the ICJ with brief facts often memorised by civil service aspirants: “ICJ has 15 judges, each serving for nine years.”

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
10: Does not match the composition prescribed by the ICJ Statute.

12: No official structure or historical period uses 12 judges as the standard ICJ bench size.

18: Also incorrect, as there is no such expansion of the ICJ bench in the basic UN Charter framework.

Common Pitfalls:
Some candidates confuse the ICJ with other judicial or quasi judicial bodies that may have a different number of members. Others may misremember the number as 12 or 18 because of similarity to other institutions. Repeating the simple fact that “ICJ equals 15 judges” during revision is a good way to prevent this confusion.

Final Answer:
The International Court of Justice is composed of 15 judges.