Explores the contributions of international courts and tribunals in terms of performance by offering a comparative analysis of international courts.

A theory of international courts that assumes member states can ignore international agreements and adverse rulings, and that the court does not have informational advantages.

Domestic law has long been recognised as a source of international law, an inspiration for legal developments, or the benchmark against which a legal system is to be assessed. Academic commentary normally re-traces these well-trodden paths, leaving one with the impression that the interaction between domestic and international law is unworthy of further enquiry. However, a different - and surprisingly pervasive - nexus between the two spheres has been largely overlooked: the use of domestic law in the interpretation of international law. This book examines the practice of five international courts and tribunals to demonstrate that domestic law is invoked to interpret international law, often outside the framework of Articles 31 to 33 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. It assesses the appropriateness of such recourse to domestic law as well as situating the practice within broader debates regarding interpretation and the interaction between domestic and international legal systems.

International courts and tribunals are key actors in international law, both because of their primary dispute resolution function and for their role in developing international law in a more general sense. Their growing number and complexity makes a detailed study of their practice particularly relevant. The Rules, Practice, and Jurisprudence of International Courts and Tribunals examines existing international dispute resolution institutions, including those of general jurisdiction (ICJ, PCA), specialised jurisdiction (ITLOS, ICSID, WTO), as well as human rights courts, international criminal courts and tribunals, courts of regional integration agreements, claims commissions and tribunals, and administrative tribunals of international organizations. Uniquely, it assesses both procedural rules and essential case-law, making it relevant for both academics and practitioners in international law.

This book argues that we must look beyond the traditional criteria of compliance and effectiveness to judge the performance of Africa's international courts. It demonstrates how these courts are important venues for activists and opposition parties to wage political, social, environmental, and legal struggles on the international stage.

The International Court of Justice and the Effectiveness of International Law, by Philippe Couvreur, Registrar of the ICJ since 2000, offers an account of the history and main achievements of the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, the only court with universal and general jurisdiction. This book discusses the hopes and aims of creating a permanent, international tribunal for settling disputes between States, and the ICJ’s role in ensuring the effectiveness of the rule of law at the international level. Taking into account the characteristics of the international legal order, this work provides a description of the main achievements brought about in this respect by the creation of the ICJ; the basis and scope of its function as a judicial institution; its relationship with other means of settling disputes and its integration in the United Nations; and finally its substantial contribution in two areas of great significance for the promotion and strengthening of peaceful relations between States, namely the settlement of land and maritime disputes and the implementation of the law of State responsibility.

Beginning about a century ago, but with a dramatic acceleration of the process in the final decades of the 1900s, international courts and tribunals have taken a prominent place in the enforcement of international law, the maintenance of international peace and security and the protection and promotion of human rights. This book addresses the great diversity of these institutions, their structures and legal frameworks and their contribution to the international rule of law.