Beginning about a century ago, but with a dramatic acceleration of the process in the final decades of the 1900s, international courts and tribunals have taken a prominent place in the enforcement of international law, the maintenance of international peace and security and the protection and promotion of human rights. This book addresses the great diversity of these institutions, their structures and legal frameworks and their contribution to the international rule of law.

In this book, Cheng aims to inquire into the practical application of the general principles of law by international courts and tribunals.

This book examines existing international disputes resolution institutions of both general and specific subject-matter jurisdiction. Uniquely, it assesses both procedural rules and essential case-law, making it relevant for both academics and practitioners in international law.

This book examines an unexplored method of interpretation: the use of domestic law in the interpretation of international law.

This book contains a collection of essays by leading experts linked to the outstanding characteristics of the scholar in honour of whom it is published, Tullio Treves, who combines his academic background with his practical experiences of a negotiator of international treaties and a judge of an international tribunal. It covers international public and private law related to international courts and the development of international law. Under Article 38 of its Statute, the International Court of Justice can apply judicial decisions only as a “subsidiary means for the determination of rules of law”. However, there are many reasons to believe that international courts and tribunals do play quite an important role in the progressive development of international law. There are a number of decisions which are inevitably recalled as the first step, or a decisive step, in the process of the formation of a new rule of customary international law. In these cases, can the judge be considered as a subsidiary of others? Are these cases compatible with the common belief that a judge cannot create law? Is this a peculiarity of international law, which is characterized by the existence of several courts but the lack of a legislator? Do decisions by different courts lead to the consequence of a fragmented international law? This volume provides the reader with an elaboration of various questions linked to the legislative role of courts. In their choices of subjects, some contributors have taken into account the general aspects of the development of international rules through court decisions or specific sectors of international law, such as human rights, international crimes, international economic law, environmental law and the law of the sea. Others have chosen the subject of the rules on jurisdiction and procedure of international courts. The question of the courts’ role in the development of areas of law different from public international law, namely private international law and European Union law, has also been considered. The information and views contained in this book will be of great value to academics, students, judges, practitioners and all others interested in the public and private international law aspects of the link between international courts and the development of international law.

"This book explores recent contributions of the case-law of international courts and tribunals to the development of international law. It begins by looking at how such case-law has contributed to the development of the methodology of international law and to the development of procedural rules. It further examines recent contributions from three major players in the international judicial arena: the International Court of Justice, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and the mechanisms for Investor-State Dispute Settlement"--