THE HAGUE, April 17. /TASS/. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the modern world is becoming more and more multipolar, and this can become a source of new opportunities provided international law prevails.

"Our world is becoming increasingly multipolar. This can be a source of dynamism and opportunity - but only if it is anchored in shared rules and strong multilateral institutions," he said at a solemn meeting on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the first hearing of the International Court of Justice. According to Guterres, without such a framework, the risk of chaos increases, as world history has repeatedly demonstrated. The secretary-general also said that it is the international law that gives countries with different political systems, histories and interests "a common language and the predictability of a common framework to resolve differences peacefully."

The International Court of Justice was established in 1945 together with the United Nations and began its work in 1946, replacing the Permanent Court of International Justice that operated during the interwar period. The court sits in the Peace Palace in The Hague and considers disputes between states. It also issues advisory opinions at the request of the UN bodies and agencies. The court consists of 15 judges elected for a nine-year term by the General Assembly and the UN Security Council.

In her comment on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the court's commencement, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova noted that in recent years the court's activities have become politicized. According to her, Western states are trying to use the court as an instrument of "legal warfare", interfere in proceedings as "third parties" and seek the promotion of biased judges. This is why Moscow emphasizes the need to preserve the court as an independent and equidistant mechanism for resolving international disputes.