Project Description

In the ever-changing landscape of international law and dispute settlement, a notable shift has been observed since the early twenty-first century, marked by mounting challenges and backlash against international courts and tribunals. While contemporary research aims to address backlash against international courts and tribunals from a multidisciplinary perspective, thus unifying the field by bringing legal scholars, sociologists and political scientists together, the purpose of this research project is to ascertain, through mixed methods relying on qualitative analysis, whether adjudicators share part of the blame for the current socio-legal context. In particular, the research project aims to determine whether correlations can be established between backlash and the way the judicial function has been exercised. Our project aims to catalogue criticisms of judicial overreach and corrective proposals, offering a unique empirical analysis of these issues. The specific and practical aim of the project is thus to fill a gap, one that requires answering a twofold question. What are the boundaries of the international judicial function, and what constitutes interference in the exercise of that function?

Conference Overview

In February 2024, our Research Project is hosting a conference, inviting scholars and early career researchers to join us in examining international judicial function and our ongoing findings. Participants will present their research, focusing on topics relating to judicial restraint, activism, overreach, reasoning, and proposed corrective measures. The conference facilitates discussions that delve into correlations between judicial practices and the growing opposition to international courts and tribunals. With the ever-evolving challenges in international dispute settlement, this event serves as a unique platform to explore legal questions and engage with our Project’s extensive data and research. The Conference will be structured around four substantive panels where participants will be presenting their research. 

Conference Structure

1. Introduction – Defining the International Judicial Function and its Contours 
2. Judicial Function and State Consent – Overreaching or Fulfilling the Mandate? 
3. Judicial Function and Economy – Too Much or Too Little? 
4. Judicial Function and Standards of Review – to Judge or not to Judge?
5. Judicial Function and Encroachment – Meddling in Someone Else’s Affair?
6. Concluding Remarks
    

Project Team

• BOISSON DE CHAZOURNES, Laurence
• PALESTINI, Lorenzo
• GUEZ MAILLARD, Guillaume
• LADDHA, Aditya
   

Programme schedule
 

Programme

Thursday, 8 February, 14:00 - 18:00
Friday, 9 February, 9:00 - 13:00

More information on the conference program and registration is available here.

Event registration - To register, please send an email indicating interest in attending the conference to aparna.nagabhushana@etu.unige.ch.