The well-publicized contributions of civil society in setting items on the international agenda, in developing new international treaties, in exercising pressure on States in favour of or against the ratification of such treaties and in assisting the functioning of new institutions has attracted the attention of scholars who discuss the presence and the role of ‘new actors’ on the international stage. The role of civil society as regards international courts and tribunals, as well as compliance mechanisms set up especially in the environmental field, may be less well-known but is certainly no less important. This book explores this crucial area. The attempt is timely and particularly relevant because of the continuous increase in the number of international courts, tribunals and compliance mechanisms. The areas of human rights, international criminal law and international environmental law are the main focus of the study, in the light of the well-established role of NGOs in Human Rights Courts and UN bodies as well as in the light of their remarkable success in setting up the International Criminal Court and the promising avenues which are now open in the compliance bodies of environmental law conventions. Broader questions and bodies such as the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea as well as European courts and tribunals are also included. The experience of a multinational group of academic scholars, judges and registrars of international tribunals, and experts from Non-Governmental Organizations, who have contributed to the book, provide it with the necessary variety of approaches and points of view. This book is based on the results of a research project by the Universities of Milan, Brescia and Verona, supported by the Italian Ministry for University and Research, and by PICT, the London-New York Project on International Courts and Tribunals. Tullio Treves is a Judge at the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and a Professor of International Law at the State University of Milano. Marco Frigessi di Rattalma teaches International Law at the University of Brescia. Attila Tanzi teaches International Law at the University of Verona. Alessandro Fodella teaches International Human Rights Protection at the University of Trento. Cesare Pitea and Chiara Ragni are research assistants at the University of Milan.

With contributions by a multinational group of academic scholars, judges and registrars of international tribunals, and experts from Non-Governmental Organizations, this book explores the role of civil society with regards to international courts and tribunals, as well as compliance mechanisms set up especially in the environmental field. The areas of human rights, international criminal law and international environmental law are the main focus of the study, in the light of the well established role of NGOs in Human Rights Courts and UN bodies as well as their remarkable success in setting up the International Criminal Court and the promising avenues which are now open in the compliance bodies of environmental law conventions. Broader questions and bodies such as the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea as well as European courts and tribunals are also examined.

This comprehensive Research Handbook offers an in-depth examination of the most significant factors affecting compliance with international human rights law, which has emerged as one of the key problems in the efforts to promote effective protection of human rights. In particular, it examines the relationships between regional human rights courts and domestic actors and judiciaries.

An innovative, interdisciplinary and far-reaching examination of the actual reality of international courts, International Court Authority challenges fundamental preconceptions about when, why, and how international courts become important and authoritative actors in national, regional, and international politics. A stellar group of scholars investigate the challenges that international courts face in transforming the formal legal authority conferred by states into an actual authority in fact that is respected by potential litigants, national actors, legal communities, and publics. Alter, Helfer, and Madsen provide a novel framework for conceptualizing international court authority that focuses on the reactions and practices of these key audiences. Eighteen scholars from the disciplines of law, political science and sociology apply this framework to study thirteen international courts operating in Africa, Latin America, and Europe, as well as on a global level. Together the contributors document and explore important and interesting variations in whether the audiences that interact with international courts around the world embrace or reject the rulings of these judicial institutions. Alter, Helfer, and Madsen's authority framework recognizes that international judges can and often do everything they 'should' do to ensure that their rulings possess the gravitas and stature that national courts enjoy. Yet even when imbued with these characteristics, the parties to the dispute, potential future litigants, and the broader set of actors that monitor and respond to the court's activities may fail to acknowledge the rulings as binding or take meaningful steps to modify their behaviour in response to them. For both specific judicial institutions, and more generally, the book documents and explains why most international courts possess de facto authority that is partial, variable, and highly dependent on a range of different audiences and contexts - and thus is highly fragile. An introduction situates the book's unique approach to conceptualizing international court authority within theoretical debates about the authority of global institutions. International Court Authority also includes critical reflections on the authority framework from legal theorists, international relations scholars, a philosopher, and an anthropologist. The book's conclusion questions a number of widely shared assumptions about how social and political contexts facilitate or undermine international courts in developing de facto authority and political power.

The essays are persuasive and well-written and, all in all, the book makes an indelible contribution to the legal discourse surrounding this subject. Although the essays are presented with sufficient detail and structure for legal specialists, it would be extremely useful for lobbying practitioners. It is equally essential reading for larger NGOs who wish to improve existing partnership efforts as well as smaller NGOs in developing countries who would like to know more about the policy considerations underpinning current limitations to the NGO s role. Akima Paul, Vienna Online Journal on International Constitutional Law The increasing importance of NGOs has forced international institutions to pay attention to issues of participation and transparency. This excellent book provides comprehensive and insightful analyses of how international bodies accommodate NGOs and their concerns. It forthrightly addresses the uncertain legal status of NGOs in international law. Edith Brown Weiss, Georgetown University Law Center, US No one can deny the significance that NGOs have at the international level, or the dynamism some of them have shown in promoting change, whether in the context of the International Criminal Court or the environment, etc. This is a lively and well-informed account of the wide range of NGOs at the international level, their continuing search for status and (what is more important) access, and also of the abuses sometimes involved, e.g. with servile NGOs in the human rights field. This collection provides an important source of information about an important source of influence on our lives. James Crawford, Cambridge University, UK A timely and useful book that highlights the multi-faceted role of NGOs on the international scene and the rules and practices which have been designed to this end. Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, University of Geneva, Switzerland This book offers a refreshing and well-informed approach to the contentious issues of the role, legal status and consequences of NGOs in international law. The authors provide insightful and high quality analyses of the theories, applications and realities of NGO participation in a wide range of international activity. Robert McCorquodale, University of Nottingham, UK This is a timely and important contribution. It assists in our understanding of developments that have theoretical and practical implications for the changing international legal order. Philippe Sands, University College London, UK The increasing role that NGOs play at different levels of legal relevance from treaty-making to rule implementation, and from support to judges to aid delivery calls for reconsideration of the international legal status of those organizations. This book shows that the degree of flexibility currently enjoyed by NGOs in fields as varied as human rights, the environment and the European Union development cooperation policy constitutes the best arena for all actors involved, with the consequences that the instances where more strict regulation of NGOs participation is desirable are very limited. With each chapter focusing on a different modality of NGO participation in international affairs (from formalised legal statuses to informal ways of dealing with issues of international relevance), this book will be of great interest to academics specialised in international law, political scientists, international officials working for both international organisations and non-governmental organisations, and legal practitioners (legal counsels of international organisations, lawyers and judges).

A universal criminal court : the emergence of an idea -- The global civil society campaign -- The victory : the independent prosecutor -- The defeat : no universal jurisdiction -- The controversy : gender and forced pregnancy -- The missed chance : banning weapons -- A global civil society achievement : why rejoice?

Providing an insightful contribution to literature on the topic, this book scrutinises how international courts and tribunals may respond procedurally to an ever-growing list of environmental disputes. In a time of environmental crisis, it lays crucial groundwork for strengthening the application of international environmental law, a topic of increasing relevance for global civil society.