The seat of the International Court of Justice is at The Hague, Netherlands. The Court is composed of 15 judges who are elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council for terms of nine years. One of the functions of the Court is to decide in accordance with international law all disputes which are submitted to it by States. The Court's jurisdiction to try contentious cases depends upon the consent of States, since international justice, in contrast to national justice, is still optional. The laws applied by the Court are international conventions and treaties, international custom, the general principles of law recognized by civilized nations, and judicial decisions and the teachings of the most highly qualified publicists as subsidiary means of the determination of rules of law. The Court also has the power to give advisory opinions at the request of the General Assembly of the United Nations, the Security Council, or other bodies so authorized. Between 1946 and January, 1983, the International Court of Justice dealt with 48 contentious cases, delivering 42 judgments and making 174 orders.