Claims Concerning Racial Discrimination: Jurisdictional Approaches of the International Court of Justice
https://doi.org/10.17803/2713-0525.2022.2.20.355-391
Abstract
Recent years have demonstrated an increase in cases that were brought before the ICJ by way of jurisdictional clauses of treaties, and never before has the Court experienced such a considerable influx of human rights-related claims. In particular, cases concerning racial discrimination, which first appeared in the Court’s docket in 2008, take up today a substantial part of its agenda: three out of fourteen cases currently pending before the ICJ concern issues of application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD), while the fourth one was resolved just in 2021. The article describes the problems the Court encountered in striking the proper balance between various legal and political considerations when interpreting the jurisdictional clause of Article 22 of CERD and questions whether the ICJ has succeeded in doing so.
About the Authors
A. N. VylegzhaninRussian Federation
Alexander N. Vylegzhanin - Dr. Sci. (Law), Professor, Head of the International Law Department, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO-University).
76 prospekt Vernadskogo, Moscow 119454.
D. V. Ivanov
Russian Federation
Dmitry V. Ivanov - Cand. Sci. (Law), Associate Professor, International Law Department, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO-University).
76 prospekt Vernadskogo, Moscow 119454.
O. I. Zinchenko
Russian Federation
Olga I. Zinchenko - Postgraduate student, International Law Department, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO-University).
76 prospect Vernadskogo, Moscow 119454.
References
1. Abraham, R., (2016). Presentation of the International Court of Justice over the Last Ten Years. Journal of International Dispute Settlement, 7(2), pp. 297–307.
2. Akande, D., (2016). Selection of the International Court of Justice as a Forum for Contentious and Advisory Proceedings (Including Jurisdiction). Journal of International Dispute Settlement, 7(2), pp. 320–344. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnlids/idw011.
3. Crawford, J., (2017). Interpretation of Human Rights Treaties by the International Court of Justice. Brainstorming Seminar on the place of the Convention in the European and international legal order, Strasbourg, 29–30 March 2017. Available at: https://vodmanager.coe.int/coe/webcast/coe/2017-03-29-3/lang/1 [Accessed 07.05.2022].
4. Fontanelli, F., (2021A). Once Burned, Twice Shy. The Use of Compromissory Clauses before the International Court of Justice and Their Declining Popularity in New Treaties. Rivista di diritto internazionale, 104(1), pp. 7–39.
5. Fontanelli, F., (2021B). The Disputes Between Armenia and Azerbaijan: The CERD Compromissory Clause as a One-way Ticket to Hague. EJIL: Talk!, 11 November 2021. Available at: https://www.ejiltalk.org/the-disputes-between-armenia-and-azerbaijan-the-cerd-compromissory-clause-as-a-one-way-ticket-to-hague/ [Accessed 07.05.2022].
6. Greenwood, C., (2011). Challenges of International Litigation. Friday Lunchtime Lecture, Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, 10 October 2011. Available at: http://itunes.apple.com/itunes-u/lcilinternational-law-seminar/id472214191 [Accessed 07.05.2022].
7. Jardón, L., (2013). The Interpretation of Jurisdictional Clauses in Human Rights Treaties. Anuario Mexicano de Derecho Internacional, XIII, pp. 99–143.
8. Koskenniemi, M., (2017). The Many Faces of Sovereignty. Introduction to Critical Legal Thinking. Kutafin University Law Review, 4(2), 282–291. https://doi.org/10.17803/2313-5395.2017.2.8.282-291.
9. Kozhevnikov, F.I. and Sharmanazashvili, G.V., (1971). Mezhdunarodnyi Sud OON: organizatsiya, tseli, praktika [The International Court of Justice: structure, objectives, practice]. Moscow: Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya Publ. (In Russ.).
10. Madsen, M., Cebulak, P., and Wiebusch, M., (2018). Resistance to International Courts. Introduction and Conclusion. International Journal of Law in Context, 14(2), pp. 193–196. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1744552318000022.
11. Odermatt, J., (2018). Patterns of avoidance: Political questions before international courts. International Journal of Law in Context, 14(2), pp. 221–236, https://doi.org/10.1017/S1744552318000046.
12. Orakhelashvili, A., (2021). Adjudicating Racial Discrimination Claims: Issues of Jurisdiction and Admissibility in Ukraine v. Russia. Moscow Journal of International Law, 1, pp. 57–69. https://doi.org/10.24833/0869-0049-2021-1-57-69. (In Russ.).
13. Shaw, M., (2017). International Law. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316979815.
14. Thirlway, H., (2016). The International Court of Justice. New York: Oxford University Press.
15. Vylegzhanin, A.N. and Zinchenko, O.I., (2018). The Jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice: Some Theoretical Issues. Moscow Journal of International Law, 4, pp. 6–32. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.24833/0869-0049-2018-4-6-32. (In Russ.).
16. Zimmermann, A., (2013). Human Rights Treaty Bodies and the Jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. The Law and Practice of International Courts and Tribunals, 12(1), pp. 5–29. https://doi.org/10.1163/15718034-12341244.
17. Zimmermann, A., et al., (2019). The Statute of the International Court of Justice: A Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Review
For citations:
Vylegzhanin A.N., Ivanov D.V., Zinchenko O.I. Claims Concerning Racial Discrimination: Jurisdictional Approaches of the International Court of Justice. Kutafin Law Review. 2022;9(2):355-391. https://doi.org/10.17803/2713-0525.2022.2.20.355-391