States can accept the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice with respect to all or certain categories of legal disputes by means of unilateral declarations. This article examines the reservations to the acceptance of the compulsory jurisdiction that states include in such declarations. It reviews the practice of states and traces the trends in drafting and adopting reservations. It also analyzes the jurisprudence of the Permanent Court of International Justice and the International Court of Justice in relation to the interpretation of various reservations, particularly in recent cases, illustrating the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of different types of reservations.
