International courts and tribunals

This timely book provides a comprehensive guide to, and rigorous analysis of, prosecutorial discretion at the International Criminal Court. This is the first ever study that takes the reader through all the key stages of the Proscecutor’s decision-making process. Starting from preliminary examinations and the decision to investigate, the book also explores case selection processes, plea agreements, culminating in the question of how to end engagement in specific country situations. The book serves as a guide to the Rome Statute through the lens of the Prosecutor’s activities. With its unique combination of legal theory and specific policy analysis, it addresses broader questions that will be relevant to other international and hybrid criminal courts and tribunals. The book will be of interest to students, practitioners of law, academics, and the wider public concerned with international law, criminal justice and international relations.

ISBN: 9781509928705

Imprint: Hart Publishing

Featuring Centre Director Professor Christian Tams as co-editor and contributor, and staff member Dr James Devaney as contributor, this landmark publication in the field of international law brings together a team of renowned commentators and delivers expert assessment of new developments coming from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The ICJ 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 of Justice, now in its third 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.

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Publication Date: 2019

ISBN: 9780198814894

Our staff member Dr Henry Lovat’s research project as Lord Kelvin Adam Smith Fellow focuses on international tribunal backlash, seeking to better define and understand political reactions against international courts and the drivers of such backlash in different institutional and political contexts. Furthermore, the work seeks to identify and assess measures available to international and domestic actors to address (and avoid) backlash. With a background in international law and international relations, Dr Lovat compares and contrasts tribunal backlash in different fields, including that against the International Criminal Court and the WTO Appellate Body.

Project Outputs:

Lovat, H. (2019) International criminal tribunal backlash. In: Heller, K. J., Ohlin, J., Nouwen, S., Megret, F. and Robinson, D. (eds.) The Oxford Handbook of International Criminal Law. Oxford University Press. (Forthcoming)

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. Dr Devaney 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 include, 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.

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Publication Date: 2016

ISBN: 9781107142213