4 - Specific Performance

Summary

Chapter 4 addresses the justifications for which specific performance is a remedy of international law before the Court. It focuses on the controversial issues regarding this remedy, which range from determining the power of the Court to order it, to analysing the effects of its relationship with other remedies, such as restitution in kind or declaratory judgments. The differences of opinion expressed by commentators regarding its availability before the International Court of Justice originate from a series of misunderstandings that gravitate around the effects of qualifying this remedy as a form of injunctive relief. A consequence of this conceptual confusion influences the relationship and interaction between specific performance, declaratory judgments, cessation and restitution in kind and the main features of this remedy. Further, the interpretation and application of specific performance is also influenced by differences in terminology between scholars and practitioners originating from different legal systems.