ASTK15629U Seminar: International Courts and Tribunals and the Politics of Dispute Settlement: An Introduction

Reading List

The main readings are included in this tentative seminar plan, but the list of readings is subject to change. The list of readings will be finalized by May 2015 and will mainly comprise articles from academic journals and book chapters as well as newspaper articles covering recent high-profile cases/disputes.

Students will not be required to purchase any reference textbooks. In addition to the compulsory readings, supplementary readings (optional) will be included in the finalized reading list. 

Seminar plan (DRAFT)

The following seminar plan is a draft - the final content and structure will be adjusted according to students’ interests.

The tentative number of sessions allocated for each part is indicated in brackets, alongside the headings of each section. Time will also be allocated during seminars for brief group discussions and presentations on selected readings – this will vary depending on students’ interests and how many students are taking the course:

• Part 1: Introduction and Key Concepts (2 sessions)

  • Key concepts and categories (taxonomies) in the study of international courts will be introduced and discussed.

  • Compulsory readings:

    • Romano, C. P. (2011): A Taxonomy of International Rule of Law Institutions. Journal of International Dispute Settlement, 2(1), 241-277 (37 pages)

    • Excerpts from Alter, K., Helfer, L. Madsen, M. (forthcoming): How Context Shapes the Authority of International Courts (22 pages)

    • Optional article (link will be included to the published version, in the finalized reading list):

• Part 2: Major International Courts and Tribunals (4 sessions)

  • The following courts and tribunals – which are truly ‘international’ in their jurisdiction - will be explored, in light of the concepts that were introduced in Part 1.

    • The International Court of Justice (ICJ) – 1 session

    • WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism (WTO DSM) – 1 session

    • International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) – 1 session

    • International Criminal Court (ICC) – 1 session

  • Key readings and cases will be discussed in relation to the abovementioned courts and tribunals. Students will be expected to discuss the readings in class.

• Part 3: Regional Economic Courts (in Europe and beyond) (3 sessions)

  • Overarching theme: The CJEU as a central institution in European integration and a model for economic courts in other regions. The following courts and tribunals will be introduced and discussed:

    • Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) – 1 session

    • Presentation (by EU Law expert - guest lecture?)

    • Discussion of assigned readings

    • Getting closer to ‘home’ – how do Nordic judges feel about delegating decision-making to supranational courts? (Note: if there’s time - refer students to articles and ongoing project by Prof. Marlene Wind)

    • Selected regional courts and tribunals of other Economic Communities – 2 sessions (Note: these will be discussed with the CJEU as a starting reference point)

    • East African Court of Justice (EACJ)

    • Community Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Court)

    • Central American Court of Justice (CACJ) and the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ)

    • Andean Tribunal (AT)

• Part 4: Regional Human Rights Courts (in Europe and beyond) (2 sessions)

  • The following courts and tribunals will be introduced and discussed:

    • European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)(Note: I will explore the possibility of having a guest speaker here, perhaps from the Faculty of Law or a Danish human rights organization?)

    • Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR)

• Part 5: International Courts today: Limitations, Challenges and Triumphs (2 sessions)

  • Possible themes that can be addressed are as follows (note: some of them would have been touched upon in earlier parts of the course):

    • The relationship between member states and international courts

      • Principal-agent theory – (can be applied to CJEU but also other courts: member states as ‘masters’ and international courts as ‘agents’ of the treaty)

      • Factors that shape member states’ participation in international courts (e.g. legitimacy, legal resources and capacity, democratization, role of private and non-profit sectors...)

      • Factors that influence member states’ compliance with international law and international court rulings (e.g. enforcement mechanisms, domestic and foreign compliance constituencies)

    • Non-state actors

    • Other general issues or challenges

      • Legitimacy challenges - Case study on the African Union and the Prosecution of Kenyatta at the ICC, Colombia’s withdrawal from the ICJ in 2012? 

      • Mission creep? – International courts are increasingly making judgments in areas beyond what they were initially expected to (e.g. environmental protection, LGBTQ rights and non-discrimination, animal rights). Some economic courts have also ventured into becoming guardians of human rights (e.g. in East and West Africa). 

      • Why are there no supranational courts in Asia? (Case study on i. China’s Territorial & Maritime Boundary Disputes and ii) the Southeast Asian countries’ use of WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism)

      • Overlapping jurisdictions and ‘fragmentation’ of international justice

      • ‘Gaps’ (e.g. international financial regulation, nuclear power, the environment and natural resources…)