COURSES
International Law - L05.3001.001
Updated April 2009
© Benedict Kingsbury/IILJ, a Creative Commons license for use is granted as detailed here
Unit 2: International Courts and Tribunals
I. The International Court of Justice
A. The Court and Its Jurisdiction: Overview
1. UN Charter, Art. 92-96
2. Statute of the ICJ, Art. 36 & 65
3. The International Court of Justice by Hugh Thirlway 559-565B. Problems of Jurisdiction and Admissibility in Contentious Cases
1. The International Court of Justice by Hugh Thirlway 566-573
2. The Interhandel Case (Switzerland v. USA)
3. Nicaragua v. USAa. Nicaragua v. USA (Jurisdiction & Admissibility, 1984)
b. Statements of the U.S.4. Serbia and Montenegro v. France (Case Concerning Legality of Used Force, 2004), including joint declaration and separate opinion.
5. *** Additional Materials ***a. Example of Special Agreement Referring Jurisdiction:
i. US-Canada Agreement (Gulf of Maine case)
ii. Belize-Guatemala Special Agreement Including Provisions on Referendaa) Note on Belize-Guatemala Dispute
b) Belize-Guatemala Agreementb. Examples of Compromissory Clauses in Treaties:
i. The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations Optional Protocol Article I
ii. Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft Article 12
iii. Dispute Arising Under a Compromissory Clause-- Macedonia v. Greecec. Examples of Declarations Under Optional Clause:
d. Example of forum prorogatum:
i. France Consent to Jurisdiction in Application by Djibouti
C. Provisional Measures
1. The International Court of Justice by Hugh Thirlway 574-576
2. The LaGrand case ( Germany v. U.S.A. )
3. Georgia v. RussiaD. Necessary Parties to Contentious Cases
1. The East Timor Case
a. The East Timor Case (Portugal v. Australia)
b. Map related to East Timor caseE. The Court’s Advisory Jurisdiction
1. The International Court of Justice by Hugh Thirlway 582-584
2. The 1996 Nuclear Weapons Advisory Opinions
3. 2004 Opinion on the Legal Consequences of the Wall in Palestinian Territoriesa. Newspaper article on Israeli Supreme Court decision rendered 1 week ahead of ICJ decision
4. Resolution of the World Health Organization
5. *** Additional Materials ***a. 1948 Opinion on Reparations for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the United Nations
F. Impact of International Court of Justice Decisions
1. Nigeria transfers Bakassi Peninsua to Cameroon, BBC News, 2008/8/14
2. Temple of Preah Vihear (Thailand/Cambodia), BBC News, 2008/7/15
II. International Criminal Tribunals
A. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
1. Prosecutor v. Tadic
2. *** Additional Materials ***a. Security Council Resolution 808: Establishing the Tribunal
b. ICTY Basic Information
c. ICTY Updated Statute
d. ICTY 2007 Report to General Assembly (example of annual report)B. The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
1. Security Council Resolution 955: Establishing Rwanda Tribunal
2. ICTR: Managing Workload and Political Pressures
3. *** Additional Materials ***a. UNAMIR Background
b. Romeo Dallaire fax
c. State Dept Legal Memo on Genocide in RwandaC. The International Criminal Court
1. The ICC Statute: Summary of Key Provisions
2. Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998)a. [Concentrate on: Articles 11-19 (jurisdiction & admissibility; summary role of the prosecutor), Article 21 (applicable law), Articles 34-36 (responsibilities, qualifications, election of judges), Article 42, 54 (responsibilities of the Office of the Prosecutor), Articles 86-90 (obligation to cooperate with ICC, surrender of persons to ICC), Article 120 (no reservations to Statute of the ICC), Article 123 (amendments to and review of statute every 7 years), Article 124 (7 year transitional period for new parties to Statute)]
3. Theodor Meron, The Court We Want (Oct. 13, 1998)
4. US-Uzbekistan Article 98 Agreement
5. Statement by Luis Moreno-Ocampo
6. UN Sec Council Resolution 1593
7. Sudan head accused of war crimes, BBC News, 2008/07/14
8. Prosecutor's Request for Arrest Warrants, Nov. 20, 2008
9. ICC Prosecution of Jean-Pierre Bemba (DRC)
10. ICC issues a warrant of arrest for Omar Al Bashir, President of Sudan, March 4, 2009
D. Hybrid Courts
1. Background: Laura Dickinson, The Promise of Hybrid Courts, 97 American Journal of Int’l Law 295 (2003) [pages 1-16]
2. Statute of the Special Court for Sierra Leone Articles 1-10
3. Michael Scharf, The Special Court for Sierra Leone
4. Security Council Resolution 1688
5. Cambodia Courta. Open Society Institute Press Release
b. Phnom Penh Post Article on the Kickback Allegations6. *** Additional Materials ***
a. Sarah Nouwen, Hybrid Courts: The Hybrid Category of a New Type of International Crimes Courts, 2 Utrecht Law Review 190 (2006)
b. Patricia Wald, Symposium: International Criminal Tribunals in the 21st Century: Iraq, Cambodia, and International Justice, 21 Am. U. Int'l L. Rev. 541 (2006)E. Truth Commissions
1. John Dugard, Dealing with Crimes of a Past Regime: Is Amnesty Still an Option?
2. *** Additional Materials ***a. Darryl Robinson, Serving the Interests of Justice: Amnesties, Truth Commissions and the International Criminal Court
b. Juan Mendez, National Reconciliation, Transitional Justice and the International Criminal CourtF. NGO Participation in International Criminal Tribunals
1. Human Rights Watch Report: How NGOs Can Contribute to the Prosecution of War Criminals (p. 14-18)
III. International Economic Tribunals
A. NAFTA
1. Loewen Arbital Award: Loewen Group & Raymond Loewen v. USA
2. Relevant articles of NAFTA
3. *** Additional Materials ***a. Matthew Simpson, Chopping Away at Chapter 11: The Softwood Lumber Agreement's Effect on the NAFTA Investor-State Dispute Resolution Mechanism, 22 Am. U. Int’l L. Rev 479 (2007) [Parts 1-2]
B. The WTO
1. The Shrimp/Turtle Case
2. Reference for the Case: GATT 1947/1994
