International court

International courts are formed by treaties between nations or under the authority of an international organization such as the United Nations and include ad hoc tribunals and permanent institutions but exclude any courts arising purely under national authority.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague

Definition

An international court is an international organization, or a body of an international organization, that hears cases in which one party may be a state or international organization (or body thereof), and which is composed of independent judges who follow predetermined rules of procedure to issue binding decisions on the basis of international law.[1]

History

Early examples of international courts include the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals established in the aftermath of World War II. Several such international courts are presently located in The Hague in the Netherlands, most importantly the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the International Criminal Court (ICC). Further international courts exist elsewhere, usually with their jurisdiction restricted to a particular country, a global or regional intergovernmental or supranational organisation, or historic issue, such as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda that deals with the genocide in Rwanda.

In addition to international tribunals created to address crimes committed during genocides and civil war, ad hoc courts and tribunals combining international and domestic strategies have also been established on a situational basis. Examples of these “hybrid tribunals” are the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Special Panels of the Dili District Court in East Timor, and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.

Privileges and immunities

Judges and high-level staff of such courts may be afforded diplomatic immunity if their governing authority allows.

List of international courts
Defendants in the dock at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg
Name Subject matter and scope Headquarters Years active
African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights Human rights within the African Union Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2006–7)
Arusha, Tanzania (2007–present)		 2006–present
Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization Trade disputes within the World Trade Organization Geneva, Switzerland 1995–present
Benelux Court of Justice Trade disputes within the Benelux Brussels, Belgium 1975–present
Caribbean Court of Justice General disputes within the Caribbean Community Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago 2005–present
CIS Economic Court Trade disputes and interpretation of treaties within the Commonwealth of Independent States Minsk, Belarus 1994–present
COMESA Court of Justice Trade disputes within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Khartoum, Sudan 1998–present
Common Court of Justice and Arbitration of the OHADA Interpretation of OHADA treaties and uniform laws Abidjan, Ivory Coast 1998–present
Court of Justice of the Andean Community Trade disputes within the Andean Community Quito, Ecuador 1983–present
Court of the Eurasian Economic Union Trade disputes and interpretation of treaties within the Eurasian Economic Union Minsk, Belarus 2015–present
East African Court of Justice Interpretation of East African Community treaties Arusha, Tanzania 2001–present
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court General disputes within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Castries, Saint Lucia 1967–present
ECOWAS Court of Justice Interpretation of Economic Community of West African States treaties Abuja, Nigeria 1996–present
European Court of Human Rights Human rights within the Council of Europe Strasbourg, France 1959–present
European Court of Justice Interpretation of European Union law Luxembourg City, Luxembourg 1952–present
European Free Trade Association Court Interpretation of European Free Trade Association law Luxembourg City, Luxembourg 1994–present
European Nuclear Energy Tribunal Nuclear energy disputes within the OECD Paris, France 1960–present
Inter-American Court of Human Rights Human rights within the Organization of American States San José, Costa Rica 1979–present
International Court of Justice General disputes globally (UN) The Hague, Netherlands 1945–present
International Criminal Court Criminal prosecutions globally (Rome Statute) The Hague, Netherlands 2002–present
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Criminal prosecutions for the Rwandan genocide (UN) Arusha, Tanzania 1994−2015
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia Criminal prosecutions for the Yugoslav Wars (UN) The Hague, Netherlands 1993−2017
International Military Tribunal Criminal prosecutions of Nazi German officials for World War II/Holocaust (Nuremberg Charter) Nuremberg, post-war Germany 1945–1946
International Military Tribunal for the Far East Criminal prosecutions of Imperial Japanese officials for World War II (Tokyo Charter) Tokyo, Japan 1946−1948
International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals Completing the Rwanda and Yugoslav Tribunals' work (UN) The Hague, Netherlands 2012−present
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea Maritime disputes globally (UNCLOS) Hamburg, Germany 1994–present
Permanent Court of International Justice General disputes globally (League of Nations) The Hague, Netherlands 1922–1946
Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone Completing the Special Court for Sierra Leone's work (UN) Freetown, Sierra Leone 2013−present
SADC Tribunal Interpretation of Southern African Development Community treaties Windhoek, Namibia 2005–2012
Special Court for Sierra Leone Criminal prosecutions for the Sierra Leone Civil War (UN) Freetown, Sierra Leone 2002−2013
Special Tribunal for Lebanon Criminal prosecutions for the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri (UN) Leidschendam, Netherlands 2009−present

List of hybrid tribunals
Name Years active Subject matter
Extraordinary African Chambers 2013–present Criminal prosecutions for crimes against humanity committed during President Hissène Habré's tenure
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia 2006–present Criminal prosecutions of Khmer Rouge officials for the Cambodian genocide
Kosovo Specialist Chambers 2017–present Criminal prosecutions of Kosovo Liberation Army officials for war crimes during the Kosovo War
Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone 2013−present Criminal prosecutions for war crimes during the Sierra Leone Civil War
Special Court for Sierra Leone 2002–2013
Special Panels of the Dili District Court 2000–2006 Criminal prosecutions for war crimes during the 1999 East Timorese crisis
Special Tribunal for Lebanon 2009−present Criminal prosecutions for the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri

Lectures

See also

References
  1. Romano, Cesare P.R.; Alter, Karen J.; Shany, Yuval (2013). The Oxford Handbook of International Adjudication. Oxford University Press. pp. 4–9. ISBN 9780199660681.
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