For many years it was said that the weakness of international law was the lack of a system for the enforcement of legal obligations. Commentators pointed to the paucity of cases in the International Court and the unwillingness of States to undertake binding obligations to settle their disputes. This position has now changed beyond recognition. The number of international tribunals has increased and many of them, such as ICSID and the International Court of Justice, are busier than at any time in their history. Increasingly, the classical procedures of diplomatic protection are circumvented as corporations and individuals litigate in their own right against States in international tribunals. This book surveys the range of procedures for the settlement of international disputes, whether the disputes arise between States or between States and corporations or individuals. The first part of the book examines non-judicial procedures such as negotiation, mediation, fact-finding, as well as judicial procedures. Among the tribunals covered are ICSID, the UNCC and the Iran-US Claim Tribunal, the WTO disputes panels, ad-hoc inter-State and international commercial arbitral tribunals and the International Court of Justice. In the second part of the book the emerging principles of procedural law applied in these tribunals are discussed. Here the authors go through the entire settlement process from the agreement to submit to a settlement procedure and the constitution of the tribunal, through to the determination of the law applicable to the merits and to the procedure of the tribunal, to the review, and ultimately the recognition and enforcement of tribunal awards.

The first part of this book deals with the general principles relating to international disputes settlement. It starts by looking at the nature of an international dispute in contemporary international law, and by discussing the principles governing the ascertainment of the existence of an international dispute. It then moves on to a consideration of the diplomatic means of an international dispute settlement. The book not only focuses on the peaceful means, but also considers other means, in particular countermeasures. A separate chapter is devoted to the International Court of Justice, enabling in-depth treatment of the issues. The book critically analyses the cases in which Australia and New Zealand have been involved, first as applicants, and then as respondents, thereby assessing the contributions made by these two countries to the development of the law relating to international disputes settlement.

International dispute settlement plays a fundamental role in maintaining the fabric of the international legal order, reflecting the desire of States, and increasingly non-State actors, to resolve their differences through international dispute procedures and other legal mechanisms. This edited collection focuses upon the growth and complexity of such legal methods, which includes judicial settlement (courts and tribunals), arbitration and other legal (or what might be termed 'extra-legal') means (international organisations, committees, inspection panels, and ombudsmen). In this important collection, such mechanisms are compared and evaluated side-by-side to provide, in one volume, a detailed and analytical account of the current framework. Ranging from key conceptual issues of proliferation of legal mechanisms and the associated risks of fragmentation through to innovations in dispute settlement mechanisms in many topical areas of international law, including international trade law, collective security law and regional law, this collection, written by leading international lawyers, provides a major study in the ongoing trends and emerging problems in this crucial area of international law. This edited collection is published to mark the retirement of Professor John Merrills, Emeritus Professor of International Law, University of Sheffield, who has written widely on international law and human rights law, but is probably best known for his work on the settlement of international disputes, evidenced by the enduring appeal of his leading text International Dispute Settlement, now in its fourth edition.

The seventh edition of this successful textbook on the techniques and institutions used to solve international disputes.

The very purpose of international law is the peaceful settlement of international disputes. Over centuries, states and more recently, organizations have created substantive rules and principles, as well as affiliated procedures, in the pursuit of the peaceful settlement of disputes. This volume of the Library of Essays in International Law focuses on the classic procedures of peaceful settlement: negotiation, good offices, inquiry, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, and agencies for dispute resolution. The introduction provides a unique historic overview, explaining how the procedures first developed and changed over time. Each chapter features a seminal essay that helped create the changes described in the introduction. Being at the center of international law, dispute resolution has always been a core topic of international scholarship, this volume brings together for the first time, the pivotal writing in the field.

"Lauterpacht Research Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge."--T.p.

International Law presents a student-focused approach to the subject; clearly written with non-native English-speaking students in mind, a range of learning features highlight the areas of debate and encourage students to engage critically with key disputes.

Offers insightful reflections on contemporary challenges to the authority, effectiveness, legitimacy, and coordination of the international dispute settlement system.