International Practicum

Recent years have seen a proliferation of international courts and tribunals, which has given rise to several new issues affecting the administration of international justice. This book makes a signification contribution to understanding the impact of this proliferation by addressing oneimportant question: namely, whether international courts and tribunals are increasingly adopting common approaches to issues of procedure and remedies. This book's central argument is that there is an increasing commonality in the practice of international courts to the application of rulesconcerning these issues, and that this represents the emergence of a common law of international adjudication.This book examines this question by considering several key issues relating to procedure and remedies, and analyses relevant international jurisprudence to demonstrate that there is susbstantial commonality. It goes on to look at why international courts are increasingly adopting common approachesto such questions, and why a greater degree of commonality may be found with respect to some issues rather than others. In doing so, light is shed on the methods adopted by international courts to engage in the cross-fertilization of legal principles.The emergence of a common law of international adjudication has important practical and theoretical implications, as it suggests that international courts can also devise common approaches to the challenges that they face in the age of proliferation. It also suggests that international courts do notgenerally operate as self-contained regimes, but rather that they regard themselves as forming part of a community of international courts, therefore having positive implications for the development of an truly international legal system.

The International Court of Justice is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations and plays a central role in both the peaceful settlement of international disputes and the development of international law. This comprehensive Commentary on the Statute of the International Court ofJustice, now in its second edition, analyses in detail not only the Statute of the Court itself but also the related provisions of the United Nations Charter as well as the relevant provisions of the Court's Rules of Procedure. Five years after the first edition was published, the second edition ofthe Commentary embraces current events before the International Court of Justice as well as before other courts and tribunals relevant for the interpretation and application of its Statute.The Commentary provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of all legal questions and issues the Court has had to address in the past and will have to address in the future. It illuminates the central issues of procedure and substance that the Court and counsel appearing before it face in theirday-to-day work.In addition to commentary covering all of the articles of the Statute of the ICJ, plus the relevant articles of the Charter of the United Nations, the book includes three scene-setting chapters: Historical Introduction, General Principles of Procedural Law, and Discontinuation and Withdrawal. Thesecond edition of the Commentary adds two important and instructive chapters on Counter-Claims and Evidentiary Issues.The combination of expert editors and commentators, and their assessment of new developments in the important work of the ICJ, make this a landmark publication in the field of international law.

Fact-Finding before the International Court of Justice examines a number of significant recent criticisms of the way in which the ICJ deals with facts. The book takes the position that such criticisms are warranted and that the ICJ's current approach to fact-finding falls short of adequacy, both in cases involving abundant, particularly complex or technical facts, and in those involving a scarcity of facts. The author skilfully examines how other courts such as the WTO and inter-State arbitrations conduct fact-finding and makes a number of select proposals for reform, enabling the ICJ to address some of the current weaknesses in its approach. The proposals includes, but are not limited to, the development of a power to compel the disclosure of information, greater use of provisional measures, and a clear strategy for the use of expert evidence.

Some recent contentious issues about the use of evidence in cases before the International Court of Justice have highlighted the importance of fact-finding and the use of evidence before this Court. This major study on the issue of evidence before the International Court of Justice has examined all aspects of the Court's relationship with facts - in both contentious and advisory proceedings - from the recently refined procedure for submitting late evidence, to the hearing of live witness testimony in the Peace Palace. Considerations of flexibility and respect for the sovereignty of the State Parties before the Court have traditionally deterred the Court from constructing concrete rules on matters of evidence, but the increasing numbers of cases, in which a thorough consideration of the facts has been essential, has highlighted that some detailed procedural guidance is necessary in order to ensure a well-functioning system of adjudication. It is apparent that the Court has paid an increasing amount of attention to its evidentiary proceedings as a result, often encountering difficulties in the inherent tensions between the common and civil law traditions and thus a divergence of opinions on the Bench. This book examines the history and development of the treatment of evidence, including the early days of the Permanent Court of International Justice - the predecessor of the International Court of Justice - up to the recent Nicaragua v Honduras judgment, critically analyzing the Statute and Rules of the Court, dicta from judgments and separate and dissenting opinions, the newly developed Practice Directions, and academic writings on the subject. The book not only provides an academic discussion of the subject, but also acts as a guide to practitioners appearing before the Court.

Each year a growing number of complex and distinctive cases are filed in diverse forums which specialize in international investment arbitration. Until now, however, no single manual has guided practitioners through the many complexities involved in international investment arbitration proceedings - from whether and how to initiate arbitral proceedings to the enforcement of the award and available post-award remedies. Litigating International Investment Disputes: A Practitioner s Guide fills this lacuna by serving as a comprehensive resource for those who are new to international investment arbitration, as well as for the seasoned practitioners. The diverse group of contributors are highly experienced experts and practitioners, who have acted as counsel and arbitrators, and served in institutions which routinely administer international investment arbitration proceedings."