The International Court of Justice in an Age of Inter-Legality: A Survey of its Case Law in the New Millennium

Abstract

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) occupies a special position amongst international courts. With its quasi-universal membership and ability to apply in principle the whole body of international law, it should be well-placed to adjudicate its cases with a holistic view on international law. This article examines whether the ICJ has lived up to this expectation. It analyses the Court’s case load in the 21st century through the lens of inter-legality as the current condition of international law. With regard to institutional inter-legality, the authors observe an increase of inter-State proceedings based on largely the same facts that are initiated both before the ICJ and other courts and identify an increasing need to address such parallel proceedings. With regard to substantive inter-legality, the article provides analyses of ICJ cases in the fields of consular relations and human rights, as well as international environmental law. The authors find that the ICJ is rather reluctant in situating norms within their broader normative environment and restrictively applies only those rules its jurisdiction is based on. The Court does not make use of its abilities to adjudicate cases holistically and thus falls short of expectations raised by its own members 20 years ago.