International Courts and

Forums

Prepared by

Sergey Ulitenok

International Courts and Forums Core Concepts

International Law

● The body of law that governs the legal relations between states and of international organizations in their relations with one

another and with private individuals, minority groups and transnational companies. 1, 2

International Courts

● International Courts (IC’s) generally hear cases involving (A) economic disputes (B) human rights issues (C) war crimes

(D) general jurisdiction.

● ICs can have (A) global or (B) regional scopes.

3, 4

(1)(2) Combined definitions sourced from www.ilsa.org/Jessup/intlawintro.pdf and www.legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com(3) http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1211&context=facultyworkingpapers(4) General jurisdiction allows IC’s to adjudicate any case involving any issue where plaintiffs have legal standing to invoke the court.

International Courts and Forums International Courts - Jurisdiction

International courts can hear cases involving:

● International crimes of genocide,

● Crimes against humanity

● War crimes.

● Trade disputes

● Ocean space

● Natural resources (ocean)

● Territorial disputes

● Human rights

● Civil and political rights

(1) http://echr.coe.int/(2) http://www.wto.org/(3) http://www.icj-cij.org/.(4) http://www.icc-cpi.int/

( (5) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Tribunal_for_the_Law_of_the_Sea

International Courts and Forums International Courts - Overview

International Courts and Forums

Selected Court Statistics

● A number of litigation cases vary greatly,

● They depend on a membership size and/or type of cases – individuals v. states.

● The International Criminal Court (2002) has reviewed 9 cases.

● The International Court of Justice (1945) has reviewed 30 cases.

● In the first 20 years of existence, the European Court of Justice reviewed 884 cases.

● On average, the WTO Appellate Body

reviews between 4 to 10 cases a

year.

International Courts – Cases

1

2

World Trade Organization

Notices of Appeal1995 - 2012

(1)(2) http://Wikipedia.org(3) http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1211&context=facultyworkingpapers

3

International Courts and Forums International Courts – Cases (Cont.)

European of Human Rights

● European Court of Human Rights allows individuals to file applications versus states.

● Individual applications represent the majority of cases.

8,400

27,200

45,500

57,200

European Court of Human Rights

Opened Applications 1

(1) http://Wikipedia.org(2) The Court has the power to declare applications inadmissible where the applicant has not suffered a significant disadvantage

119,300Total pending applications in 2010

90%Of them declared inadmissible 2

International Courts and Forums International Courts – Geographical Scope

http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1211&context=facultyworkingpapers

International Courts and Forums International Economic Courts - Europe

European Court of JusticeEconomic Court of the

Commonwealth

of Independent States

Benelux court

European Free Trade

Area Court

● Est. 1994● 3 members ● Est. 1974

● 3 members

● Est. 1992● 6 members

● Est. 1952● 28 members

http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1211&context=facultyworkingpapers

International Courts and Forums

Court of Justice of the Andean

Community

International Economic Courts – Latin America

● Est. 1984● 4 members

Central American Court of Justice ● Est. 1992● 8 members

Caribbean Court of Justice

● Est. 2001● 12 members

Southern Common Market

● Est. 2004● 5 members

http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1211&context=facultyworkingpapers

International Courts and Forums International Economic Courts – Africa

West African Economic and Monetary Union

● Est. 1994● 8 members

Economic Community of West African States Court of Justice

● Est. 1975● 15 members

Common Court of Justice and Arbitration

for the Organization for the Harmonization of Corporate law in Africa

● Est. 1997● 16 members

Court of Justice for the Common Market of Eastern and Southern Africa

● Est. 1994● 19 members

Central African Monetary Community

● Est. 1999● 6 members

East African Court of Justice

● Est. 1999● 5 members

Southern African Development Community

● Est. 1992● 15 members

http://scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1211&context=facultyworkingpapers

International Courts and Forums International Courts – Global Scope

International Court of Justice

International Tribunal for

the Law of the SeaInternational Criminal Court

World Trade Organization Appellate Body

● Est. 1955● 193 members

● Est. 1994● 161 members 1

160 states plus European Union.

● Est. 2002● 122 members

● Est. 1995● 160 members

International Courts and Forums International Courts – Question

“Is the world expected to direct a

sovereign state on how to run its

affairs?”

Gabriel Peter Udoh

Excerpt/question asked by Gabriel Peter Udoh. “International law and Sovereignty of States: A Fight for Supremacy.”