XI - Settlement of Disputes

Summary

OVERVIEW

Throughout this volume may be seen U.S. practice in various fora for the settlement of disputes, ranging from cases before the International Court of Justice, to cases before World Trade Organization and North American Free Trade Agreement dispute resolution tribunals, to cases in U.S. courts, as well as U.S. resistance to certain fora, such as the International Criminal Court. This chapter briefly seeks to highlight some of the important initiatives of the United States during 2002–2004 concerning negotiation, arbitration, and judicial settlement that have not been addressed elsewhere in this volume. While the United States engaged in wide-ranging types of bilateral and multilateral negotiations, the discussion below focuses on bilateral negotiations with Libya over the payment of compensation to victims of terrorism and over disarmament, a process of negotiation that was highly successful, and that entailed a cautious sequencing of events by both sides. The section on arbitration focuses on the resolution of cases before the Iran–U.S. Claims Tribunal in this time period, including the disposition of the last claim by a U.S. national against Iran filed before the Tribunal. U.S. appearances before the International Court of Justice have been recounted in prior chapters on matters such as the consular rights of persons on death row (Chapter II) and attacks on Iranian oil platforms (Chapter X).