2020 AIIB Law Lecture

Abstract

At the heart of modern international law stands the principle of peaceful settlement of international disputes. Traditionally, States’ right to resort to war for the resolution of international disputes was seldomly challenged. For centuries, use of force or threat of use of force was common in international relations. Not until the founding of the United Nations (UN) and the adoption of the Charter of the United Nations was non-use of force in international relations legally prohibited, and peaceful settlement of international disputes established as one of the fundamental principles in international law. In this development, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) was and continues to be a key actor. As will become clear in the following, however, the role of the Court goes beyond settling disputes. It has entailed the significant task of developing, without legislating, international law through judicial law-making. The case law analysed in this chapter shows that this is particularly the case when the existing law is inadequate, unclear or uncertain, and when the law needs to be developed first through progressive interpretation. In this role, the Court faces a tension inherent in the nature of law as such, i.e., between stability on the one hand, and evolution in view of economic and social progress on the other hand. This raises the question whether and to what extent self-restraint by the Court might be necessary. The chapter concludes by emphasizing three core challenges the Court faces, and how they might impact its work in the future.