While the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is not “blind” to political context or the human suffering behind many cases, its main job is to be the interpreter of international law in disputes between States, said the newly appointed President of the UN World Court, Yuji Iwasawa.

This year, ICJ issued two advisory opinions that made headlines: one that decided Israel must allow aid to flow freely into Palestine and another ruling that countries have a responsibility to protect the environment.

Mr. Iwasawa spoke to UN News’s Ileana Exaras about the functions and responsibilities of the court, the significance of advisory opinions and what he’d like to accomplish throughout his tenure.