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

Criminal and civil matters

Early examples of international courts include the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals established in the aftermath of World War II. Two such courts are presently located at The Hague in the Netherlands: 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 or issue, such as the one dealing with the genocide in Rwanda. In addition to international tribunals created to address crimes committed during genocides and civil war, ad hoc courts combining international and domestic strategies have also been established on a situational basis. Examples of these “hybrid tribunals” are found in Sierra Leone, Lebanon, East Timor, and Cambodia.

International Courts are permanent tribunals judging by International laws and treaties, also when these norms are on civil and commercial matters.[1] International courts should be distinguished from international arbitration forums.

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

The International Court of Justice

Defendants in the dock at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg

Name	Scope	Years active	Subject matter
African Court of Justice	Africa	2009–present	Interpretation of AU treaties
African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights	Africa	2006–present	Human rights
Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization	Global	1995–present	Trade disputes within the WTO
Benelux Court of Justice	Benelux	1975–present	Trade disputes within Benelux
Caribbean Court of Justice	Caribbean	2005–present	General disputes
COMESA Court of Justice	Africa	1998–present	Trade disputes within COMESA
Common Court of Justice and Arbitration of the OHADA	Africa	1998–present	Interpretation of OHADA treaties and uniform laws
Court of Justice of the Andean Community	South America	1983–present	Trade disputes within CAN
Court of the Eurasian Economic Union	Former USSR	2015–present	Economic disputes and interpretation of treaties within the EAEU
East African Court of Justice	Africa	2001–present	Interpretation of EAC treaties
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court	Caribbean	1967–present	General disputes
Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States	Former USSR	1994–present	Economic disputes and interpretation of treaties within the CIS
ECOWAS Community Court of Justice	Africa	1996–present	Interpretation of ECOWAS treaties
European Court of Human Rights	Europe	1959–present	Human rights
European Court of Justice	Europe	1952–present	Interpretation of EU law
European Free Trade Association Court	Europe	1994–present	Interpretation of EFTA law
European Nuclear Energy Tribunal	Europe	1960–present	Nuclear energy disputes
Inter-American Court of Human Rights	Americas	1979–present	Human rights
International Court of Justice	Global	1945–present	General disputes
International Criminal Court	Global	2002–present	Criminal prosecutions
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda	Rwanda	1994−2015	Criminal prosecutions
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia	Former Yugoslavia	1993−2017	Criminal prosecutions
International Military Tribunal	Europe	1945–1946	Criminal prosecutions
International Military Tribunal for the Far East	Pacific	1946−1948	Criminal prosecutions
International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals	Global	2012−present	Criminal prosecutions
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea	Global	1994–present	Maritime disputes
Permanent Court of International Justice	Global	1922–1946	General disputes
Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone	Sierra Leone	2013−present	Criminal prosecutions
SADC Tribunal	Africa	2005–2012	Interpretation of SADC treaties
Special Court for Sierra Leone	Sierra Leone	2002−2013	Criminal prosecutions
Special Tribunal for Lebanon	Lebanon	2009−present	Criminal prosecutions

List of hybrid tribunals

Name	Scope	Years active	Subject matter
Extraordinary African Chambers	Chad	2013–present	Criminal prosecutions
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia	Cambodia	2006–present	Criminal prosecutions
Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone	Sierra Leone	2013−present	Criminal prosecutions
Special Court for Sierra Leone	Sierra Leone	2002–2013	Criminal prosecutions
Special Panels of the Dili District Court	East Timor	2000–2006	Criminal prosecutions
Special Tribunal for Lebanon	Lebanon	2009−present	Criminal prosecutions

Lectures

Lecture by Yuval Shany (Yuval Shany) entitled Assessing the Effectiveness of International Courts: A Goal-based Approach in the Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
Lecture by Sir Elihu Lauterpacht entitled The Role of the International Judge in the Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
Lecture by Kenneth Keith entitled Aspects of the Judicial Process in National and International Courts and Tribunals in the Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
Lecture by Mark Weston Janis entitled Protestants, Progress and Peace: the 19th Century Movement for an International Court and Congress: Early Drafts of Today's International Court and the United Nations in the Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law

References

There are questions about virtual contradictions from overlapping between the international courts and between them and the Italian Courts: Buonomo, Giampiero (2011). "Diritti umani: in Europa l'Italia è una voce fuori dal coro". Golem informazione. – via Questia (subscription required)

External links

Project on International Courts and Tribunals, which maintains a second website focused on Africa at
United Nations Rule of Law: Tribunals & Other Mechanisms, on the relationship between international courts and the rule of law.

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[1] There are questions about virtual contradictions from overlapping between the international courts and between them and the Italian Courts: Buonomo, Giampiero (2011). "Diritti umani: in Europa l'Italia è una voce fuori dal coro". Golem informazione. – via Questia (subscription required)