Title: The Authority of Precedents in International Law
PhD Supervisor: Fuad Zarbiyev
Expected completion date: 2023
My PhD thesis puts forward a more comprehensive approach to precedents in international law, as a “relational experience” which supports its normative value in the field. It conceives precedents as prior decisions of international courts and tribunals, and their constraining effect as an expression of authority, not formally but socially-based and constantly being (re)shaped and gradually varying. Thereby, the authority of precedents is a voluntary deference or submission of international lawyers to prior decisions, socially experienced and enforced. More broadly, if it is how we use or practice international law and not its formal rules what determines what international law is within a society, then this thesis on the practice or experience of the authority of precedents will also provide important perspectives on international law itself. It will shed more light on how it works, how does that impact international lawyers’ practice, and ultimately, it will provide them (specially those engaged in its practice) with valuable tools to become more strategic players in the field.
Karem is a PhD candidate in International Law at the Graduate Institute. She holds a bachelor's degree in Law from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP) and a master's degree in International Law from the Graduate Institute. She is Teaching Assistant of the The Graduate Institute's International Law department. She has previously worked as international lawyer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru (focused on military and security issues, international technical and economic cooperation) and of the Peruvian Agency of International Cooperation, as well as former legal assistant at the UN International Law Commission (ILC). Her research currently focuses on the authority of Precedents, History and legal theory, Utopia and international law, and unilateral sanctions.
Teaching Experience
Teaching Assistant, The Graduate Institute.
Teaching Assistant, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru
Adjunt Professor, Pontifical Catholic University of Peru
Editing collaborator on the Book “Peremptory Norms of General International Law (Jus Cogens)”, under direction of Professor Dire Tladi.
1. Ynfanzón, K. L. C. (2021). "Chapter 3 The Authority of the Precedents of the International Court of Justice in the Argumentative Practice in International Law". In Case-Law and the Development of International Law. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill | Nijhoff.
2. Cardenas Karem. “Qatar v. UAE: a different way of maintaining the international security”. In: Bitácora Internacional Review 2018.
3. Cardenas Karem and Josy , “Legal framework to protect Haitian migration in Peru and Brazil: expectations and shortcomings of reality”. In: Direito Internacional em Análise – Volume 5, 2017.
4. Cardenas Karem, “is it possible to claim self-defense against an armed attack from an non-state actor?: France vs. Islamic State”. In: Ius Inter Gentes Review.
5. Cardenas Karem, “The criteria of the Peruvian Constitutional Tribunal on the right of assembly in light of the standards of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights ". In: Constitutional Gazette Review.