A Century of International Justice and Prospects for the Future
| Autor | Antônio Augusto Cançado Trindade |
| Ocupação do Autor | Juiz da Corte Internacional de Justiça (Haia) |
| Páginas | 691-717 |
XXXII
A Century of International Justice and
Prospects for the Future1
Summary:110I. Introduc tion: The Emergence of International Tribunals. II. Lessons
from the Past. III. The Exp ansion of International Jurisdiction. 1. International Hu-
man Rights Tribunals. 2. International Criminal Tribunals. 3. General Overview. 4.
The Contribution of Expanded Advisor y Jurisdiction. IV. The Move Towards Com-
pulsory Jurisdiction. V. Emerging Conceptions of the Exercise of the International
Judicial Function. VI. The Relevance of General Pr inciples of Law. VII. The Awareness
of the Primacy of the Jus Naecessarium over the Jus Voluntarium. VII I. International
Tribunals and Jurisprudential Cross-Fertilization. IX. Effec ts of the Work of Interna-
tional Tribunals. X. Interactions between International and Dome stic Law: The Unity
of the Law. XI. Concluding Remarks: The Tasks Ahead, and Prospects for the Future.
I. Introduction: The Emergence of International Tribunals
It is a satisfaction to me to dwell upon the topic “A Century of International Justice
and Prospects for the Future” today, 23 September 2013, on the occasion of this celebration,
by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), of the centenary of the Peace Palace here at
The Hague. I propose this morning, as t he topic i ndicates, to pre sent, within the merci-
less constraints of the time available, a vue d´ensemble of a century of international jus-
tice, the lessons learned, and the perspect ives for the future. It is an additional pleasure
to me to be in the company, in this panel, of two distinguished colleagues and friends,
– Judge Ronny Abraham, of the ICJ, a nd Judge Dean Spielma nn, President of the Euro-
pean Court of Human Rights, with both of whom I have been sharing memorable mo-
ments, along the last two decades, not only here at the ICJ, but also i n the sièges of both
the European and the Inter-American Courts of Human Rights.
May I begin by recalling that six years ago we had the thoughtful celebration,
of which I guard the best memories, of another centenary, that of the II Hague Peace
Conference (of 1907), held in the premises of the Hague Academy of International
Law. That workshop marked t he centenary of the birth of intern at ional tribunals, of
the judicial settlement of international disputes. As I had the occasion to ponder in
that centennial celebration1, by then there were already calls for the creation of per-
1 A.A. Cançado Trindade, “The Presence and Participation of Latin Amer ica at the II Hague
Peace Conference of 1907”, in Actualité de la Conférence de La Haye de 1907, II Conférence de la
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ANTÔNIO AUGUSTO CANÇADO TRINDADE
manent courts or tribunals, as illustrated by two initiatives: first, to render perma-
nent a Court of Arbitral Justice2, as from the model of the Permanent Court of Arbi-
tration (PCA) envisaged in the previous I Hague Peace Conference (of 1899), and
secondly, to establish an International Prize Court, with access to it granted to indi-
viduals.
The proposal for a permanent Court of Arbitral Justice as a whole was to
project itself on the advent of judicial solution proper, at international level, as it
became one of the sources of inspiration for the drafti ng of the Statute of the PCIJ in
19203. And although the projected International Prize Court, set forth in the XII
Hague Convention of 1907 never saw the light of day, as the Convention did not
enter into force, it presented issues of relevance for the evolution of International
Law, namely: first, it foresaw the establishment of a jurisdiction above national ju-
risdictions to decide on last appeal on maritime prizes; secondly, it provided, for
example, in such circumstances, for the access of individuals direc tly to the interna-
tional jurisdiction4; thirdly, it envisaged a type of international compulsory juris-
diction; and fourthly, it admitted the proposed Court´s free authority to decide (the
compétence de la compétence)5.
The 1907 debates of the II Hague Peace Con ference led to the prevailing view
of granting individuals direct appeal before t he projected International Prize Court.
Yet, it wa s elsewhere, i n Latin America, still in the year of 1907, that the fi rst modern
international tribunal – the Central American Court of Justice – came to operate. It
Paix (Colloque de 2007) (ed. Y. Daudet), Leiden/La Haye, Académie de Droit International/
Nijhoff, 2008, pp. 66-73, a nd cf. pp. 51-84, 110-112, 115-117, 122 and 205-206 (debates).
2 Cf. D.J. Beder man, “The Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907”, in Internation al Courts
for the Twenty-First Century (ed. M.W. Jani s), Dordrecht, Nijhoff, 1992, pp. 10-11.
3 Cf. S. Rosenne, “Introduction”, in: PCA, Th e Hague Peace Conferences of 1899 and 1907 and
International Arbitration – Reports and Documents (ed. S. Rosen ne), The Hague, T.M.C. Asser
Press, 2001, p. XXI. And cf. also A. Eyffinger, “A High ly Cr itical Moment: Role and Record
of the 1907 Hague Peace Conference”, 54 Ne therlands International Law Review (2007) n. 2, pp.
217 and 227.
4 It was then admitted that the i ndividual is “not without standing in modern internationa l
law”; J. Brown Scott, “The Work of the Second Hague Peace Conference”, 2 American Journ al of
International La w (1908) p. 22. The view prevailed that it would be in the intere sts of the States
– particularly the small or weaker ones – to avoid giving to this ki nd of cases the character
of inter-State disputes: “les litiges nés des pr ises garderaient (...) le caractère qu’ils avaient en
première instance (...), affaires reg ardant d’un côté l’État capteur et de l’autre les part iculiers”;
S. Séfériadès, “Le problème de l’accès des particuliers à des juridictions i nternationales”, 51
Recueil des Cours de l’Académie de Droit International de La Haye (1935) pp. 38-40.
5 João Cabral, Evolução do Direito International, Rio de Janeiro, Typ. Rodrigues & Cia., 1908,
pp. 97-98. – O n the evolution of this last point (the compétence de la compétence of international
tribunals), cf., generally, I.F.I. Shihata, The Power of the International Court to Determine Its Own
Jurisdiction (Compétence de la Compétence), The Hague, Nijhoff, 1965, pp. 1-304.
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