The Independent Commission for Human Rights ii) Compulsory Jurisdiction of the Court: this is also based on the consent of the parties, though the extent to which they consent can be specified themselves. Once the terms and conditions of their consent is determined and consent is granted, the States involved are then obligated to the results of the Court’s findings, and this includes not only general agreements but also requests for legal interpretation or explanation. Thus, disputes are brought before the Court with the understanding that the decisions of the Court are binding. The cases which may be brought before the Court include interpretation of conventions, investigating violations of an international obligation, or remedies for such violations. Whether the jurisdiction is optional or compulsory depends on the acceptance of litigation before the Court35. In this way, the ICJ can be seen to have two roles; the first role is exemplified in issuing advisory opinions, as Article (65) of the Statute states: “The Court may give an advisory opinion on any legal question at the request of whatever body may be authorized by or in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations to make such a request, and questions upon which the advisory opinion of the Court is asked shall be laid before the Court by means of a written request containing an exact statement of the question upon which an opinion is required, and accompanied by all documents likely to throw light upon the question”. The second role is exemplified in the settlement of disputes between two states that accept the jurisdiction of the Court. It is worth mentioning that Israel does neither accept the mandate of the Court nor its jurisdiction. Palestine’s bid to sign on to the Statute of the ICJ might encounter some obstacles, such as the definition of the concept of “state”, a recommendation from the Security Council to accept Palestine’s bid to sign on, and Israel’s acceptance of the jurisdiction of the Court. 1.7: Observer State and Universal Periodic Review in the Human Rights Council 36 Upon Palestine being upgraded to observer state status, it should be considered for participation in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), in which national human rights institutions play a very important role. The UPR is a process which involves a review of human rights records at the international level. It is a state-driven process under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each state to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries. As one of the main features of the Council, the Universal Periodic Review is designed to ensure equal treatment for every country when their human rights situations are assessed. It is performed by each member state of the United Nations once every four years to declare what actions have been taken to fulfill its human rights obligations; this provides objective and authentic information relying on cooperative mechanisms based on interactive 35 http://www.moqatel.com/openshare/Behoth/Monzmat3/UN/sec08.doc_cvt.htm 36 See Appendix (7). 18