Original sentence: In December 2003, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution requesting the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to make an non-binding advisory opinion on the "legal consequences arising" from the construction of the barrier
Edited sentence: An advisory opinion derives its status and authority from the fact that it is the official pronouncement of the principal judicial organ of the United Nations.In December 2003, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution requesting the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to make an advisory opinion on the "legal consequences arising" from the construction of the barrier.These opinions are essentially non-binding, but this non-binding character does not mean that advisory opinions are without legal effect, because the legal reasoning embodied in them reflects the Court's authoritative views on important issues of international law and, in arriving at them, the Court follows essentially the same rules and procedures that govern its binding judgments delivered in contentious cases submitted to it by sovereign states