10 - The ICJ and Other Courts and Tribunals: Integration and Fragmentation

Summary

This chapter considers the ICJ’s relationship with other courts and tribunals through the dual prism of integration and fragmentation. The author argues that three factors influence the degree of the Court’s integration or fragmentation: the identity of the court, the substance of the law, and the procedures employed. The author selects three legal issues that have been considered by the ICJ and other courts and tribunals in recent years: jurisdiction over issues of immunity involving treaties that do not expressly refer to immunity; inferring specific intent for genocide; and the nature of consular assistance as a treaty obligation, individual right or human right. These issues provide insight into the way that identity, area of law and procedure influence integration or fragmentation among international courts.