International court
International courts are formed by treaties between nations, or under the authority of an international organization such as the United Nations — this includes ad hoc tribunals and permanent institutions, but excludes any courts arising purely under national authority.
Early examples of international courts include the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals established in the aftermath of World War II. Three such courts are presently located at The Hague in the Netherlands: The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), 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.
Judges and high-level staff of such courts may be afforded diplomatic immunity if their governing authority so allows. International courts should be distinguished from international arbitration forums.
Contents |
[edit] List of international courts
[edit] Permanent international courts
[edit] Global
- International Court of Justice
- International Criminal Court
- Permanent Court of Arbitration
- Permanent Court of International Justice
- World Trade Organization Dispute Settlement Body
- International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
[edit] Africa
- African Court of Justice
- African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
- Court of Justice of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
- Court of Justice of the Economic Community of Central African States
- Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States
- East African Court of Justice
- Southern African Development Community Tribunal
[edit] Americas
- Caribbean Court of Justice
- Central American Court of Justice
- Common Court of Justice of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba
- Court of Justice of the Andean Community
- Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
- Inter-American Court of Human Rights
[edit] Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States
- Benelux Court of Justice
- Economic Court of the Commonwealth of Independent States
- European Court of Auditors
- European Court of Human Rights
- European Court of Justice
- European Commission of Human Rights
- European Free Trade Association Court
- European Nuclear Energy Tribunal
- European Union Civil Service Tribunal
- Human Rights Chamber for Bosnia and Herzegovina
[edit] Ad hoc arbitration tribunals
[edit] Ad hoc criminal tribunals
- International Military Tribunal (Nuremberg; 1945−46)
- International Military Tribunal for the Far East (1946−1948)
- International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY; since 1993)
- International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR; since 1994)
- International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (will gradually replace the ICTR and the ICTY beginning in 2012/2013)
- Special Panels of the Dili District Court (2000−2006)
[edit] Hybrid tribunals
- Special Court for Sierra Leone (since 2002)
- Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (since 2003)
- Special Tribunal for Lebanon (since 2009)
[edit] External links
- Project on International Courts and Tribunals, which maintains a second website focused on Africa at [1]
- United Nations Rule of Law: Tribunals & Other Mechanisms, on the relationship between international courts and the rule of law.
