International Tribunals

International Tribunals

Problems with the growth of judicial and quasi-judicial fora

In 1899, the Hague Convention on the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes established the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the first standing institution intended to settle disputes between sovereign States through binding decisions based on international law. Since then the international rule of law has advanced significantly. There now are more than twenty international courts and tribunals; that is to say permanent institutions, composed of independent judges, that adjudicate disputes between two or more entities (at least one of which is either a State or an International Organisation); operate on the basis of predetermined rules of procedure; and render decisions that are binding on the parties. Beside these international courts and tribunals, there are at least other fifty international institutions which exercise judicial or quasi-judicial functions but that do not meet all of the above-mentioned criteria.

Yet, this exceptional growth of judicial and quasi-judicial fora for the most part has been uncoordinated, giving rise to a number of questions which require consideration by the international community:

  • Do fifteen international courts and tribunals with differing jurisdictions, sources of financing and membership amount to a judicial system?
  • What is the relationship between the various fora?
  • Is there a need for harmonization of procedural aspects?
  • What are the problems, actual or potential, arising from the absence of co-ordination, both institutional and substantive, among the different institutions and mechanisms?
  • What should happen where jurisdictions overlap?
  • How is the international justice machinery to be funded?
  • Can the international justice machinery, as presently organized, be made more universally accessible and equitable in the distribution of justice?
  • What effect do current structural, financial and procedural arrangements have on the quality and distribution of justice?

These and other questions suggest that if confidence is to be maintained in international courts and dispute settlement bodies, and compliance with international obligations ensured, there is need for the international community to think systematically about the development of the international justice system and try to structure it in a more coordinated manner. Two aspects in particular will need to be addressed. First, arrangements for effective access to these bodies must be assured. Second, the bodies themselves must have the financial and other resources to be able to discharge their tasks effectively. Indeed, a number of courts are facing serious financial constraints, and actors with limited human, technical and/or financial resources find it difficult to participate effectively. Issues of efficiency, expediency and economy intertwine, therefore, with needs of fairness and justice.

Some International Courts and Tribunals

International Courts and Tribunals include the following items:

Caribbean Court of Justice (Appellate Jurisdiction)

See this section in the worldwide legal Encyclopedia for more information.

Chile-United States of America International Commission

See this section in the worldwide legal Encyclopedia for more information.

Commission of Enquiry (Denmark-United Kingdom)

See this section in the worldwide legal Encyclopedia for more information.

Council of Europe Appeals Board

See this section in the worldwide legal Encyclopedia for more information.

Court of Appeal of Dakar (French West Africa)

See this section in the worldwide legal Encyclopedia for more information.

Court of Appeal of Eastern Caribbean States

See this section in the worldwide legal Encyclopedia for more information.

Court of Appeal of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba

See this section in the worldwide legal Encyclopedia for more information.

Court of First Instance

See this section in the worldwide legal Encyclopedia for more information.

EC Commission

Some International Courts and Tribunals

International Courts and Tribunals include the following items:

Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (1st Board of Appeal)

See this section in the worldwide legal Encyclopedia for more information.

Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (2nd Board of Appeal)

See this section in the worldwide legal Encyclopedia for more information.

Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (3rd Board of Appeal)

See this section in the worldwide legal Encyclopedia for more information.

Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (4th Board of Appeal)

See this section in the worldwide legal Encyclopedia for more information.

Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (Cancellation Div)

See this section in the worldwide legal Encyclopedia for more information.

Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (Grand Board of Appeal)

See this section in the worldwide legal Encyclopedia for more information.

Office of Harmonization for the Internal Market (Opposition Div)

See this section in the worldwide legal Encyclopedia for more information.

United Nations Administrative Tribunal

See this section in the worldwide legal Encyclopedia for more information.

United Nations Convention Against Torture

International, Hybrid, and Other Tribunals

In relation to the international law practice and international, hybrid, and other tribunals in this world legal Encyclopedia, please see the following section:

International Criminal Law

About this subject:

Bangladesh International Crimes Tribunal

Note: there is detailed information and resources under these topics during the year 2013, covered by this entry on international, hybrid, and other tribunals in this law Encyclopedia.

MPEPIL: International courts and tribunals

Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law (MPEPIL) list of articles of this subject.

List of articles pertaining to this subject:
International courts and tribunals:

1. Advisory Opinions, Thirlway, Hugh
2. African Court of Justice (ACJ), Tavakoli, Bijan
3. African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACtHPR), Viljoen, Frans
4. Andean Community of Nations, Court of Justice, Porrata-Doria, Rafael A
5. Arbitral Commission on Property, Rights and Interests in Germany, Bank, Roland
6. Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Byron, Dennis and Malcolm, Christopher
7. Central American Court of Justice (1907-18), Cortado, Rosa Riquelme
8. Central American Court of Justice (CACJ), Virzo, Roberto
9. Commercial Arbitration and Mediation Center for the Americas (CAMCA), Ernst, Andrea
10. Conciliation Commissions Established pursuant to Art. 83 Peace Treaty with Italy (1947), d’Argent, Pierre
11. Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission, Klein, Natalie
12. European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Oetheimer, Mario and Palomares, Guillem Cano
13. European Union, Court of Justice and General Court, Jacobs, Francis G
14. Inter-American Commercial Arbitration Commission (IACAC), Montt, Santiago
15. Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR), Neuman, Gerald L
16. Interim (Provisional) Measures of Protection, Wolfrum, Rüdiger
17. International Court of Justice (ICJ), Rosenne, Shabtai
18. International Court of Justice , Optional Clause, Fitzmaurice, Malgosia
19. International Court of Justice, Rules and Practice Directions, Koroma, Abdul G
20. International Courts and Tribunals, Tomuschat, Christian
21. International Courts and Tribunals, Agents, Counsel and Advocates, Valencia-Ospina, Eduardo
22. International Courts and Tribunals, Amicus Curiae, Sands, Philippe J and Mackenzie, Ruth
23. International Courts and Tribunals, Appeals, Oellers-Frahm, Karin
24. International Courts and Tribunals, Chambers, Mackenzie, Ruth
25. International Courts and Tribunals, Discontinuance of Cases, Wood, Michael
26. International Courts and Tribunals, Evidence, Wolfrum, Rüdiger
27. International Courts and Tribunals, Intervention in Proceedings, Zimmermann, Andreas
28. International Courts and Tribunals, Judges and Arbitrators, Oellers-Frahm, Karin
29. International Courts and Tribunals, Jurisdiction and Admissibility of Inter-State Applications, Rosenne, Shabtai
30. International Courts and Tribunals, Multiple Jurisdiction, Reinisch, August
31. International Courts and Tribunals, Non-Appearance, Goldmann, Matthias
32. International Courts and Tribunals, Procedure, Sorel, Jean-Marc
33. International Courts and Tribunals, Rules and Practice Directions (ECJ, CFI, ECtHR, IACtHR, ICSID, ITLOS, WTO Panels and Appellate Body), Knust Rassekh Afshar, Mandana
34. International Courts and Tribunals, Standing, Del Vecchio, Angela
35. International Criminal Court (ICC), Kaul, Hans-Peter
36. International Criminal Courts and Tribunals, Complementarity and Jurisdiction, Bergsmo, Morten and Webb, Philippa
37. International Criminal Courts and Tribunals, Procedure, Schomburg, Wolfgang and Nemitz, Jan Christoph
38. International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda , Pocar, Fausto
39. International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), Pocar, Fausto
40. International Law and Domestic (Municipal) Law, Law and Decisions of International Organizations and Courts, Polakiewicz, Jürg
41. International Prize Court (IPC), Ronzitti, Natalino
42. International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Rao, Patibandla Chandrasekhara
43. Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, Pinto, Christopher
44. Judgments of International Courts and Tribunals, Thirlway, Hugh
45. Judgments of International Courts and Tribunals, Interpretation of, Oellers-Frahm, Karin
46. Judgments of International Courts and Tribunals, Revision of, Oellers-Frahm, Karin
47. Judicial and Arbitral Decisions, Validity and Nullity, Oellers-Frahm, Karin
48. Judicial Settlement of International Disputes, Pellet, Alain
49. Local Remedies, Exhaustion of, Crawford, James R and Grant, Thomas D
50. Lockerbie Trial, Grant, John P
51. MERCOSUR, Permanent Appeals Court, Klumpp, Marianne
52. Mixed Claims Commissions, Dolzer, Rudolf
53. Mixed Commissions, Boisson de Chazournes, Laurence and Campanelli, Danio
54. Mixed Courts, Other (National Courts with International Participation), Winkelmann, Ingo
55. Mixed Criminal Tribunals, Romano, Cesare PR
56. Non Liquet, Bodansky, Daniel
57. Organization for Security and cooperation in Europe, Court of Conciliation and Arbitration, Steinberger, Helmut
58. Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), Ando, Nisuke
59. Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), Rosenne, Shabtai
60. Preliminary Objections, Thirlway, Hugh
61. Property Commissions Established pursuant to Art. 15 Peace Treaty with Japan (1951), Ando, Nisuke
62. Res Judicata, Dodge, William S
63. Verification of Facts, Bothe, Michael

Conclusion

Notes

See Also

References and Further Reading

About the Author/s and Reviewer/s

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

International Court of Justice, International Criminal Court, International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, International Organizations, Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, Permanent Court of Arbitration.


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