Proliferation of International Judicial Bodies and their Impact on International Law System

Abstract

Today’s international legal landscape is different from that which was in existence 10 years ago. The International Court of Justice is no longer the only permanent international court. Many other specialized and regional international judicial bodies have been established, such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization, the ad hoc International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda and etc. This is undoubtedly very good news for international law system, because the proliferation of international judicial bodies signals an increase in international litigation and has very positive impact on development of international law.
The establishment of a hierarchy of international judicial bodies is extremely difficult and will have a very negative impact on specialized international judicial bodies/ The risk of fragmentation of international law because of conflicting judgments and/or conflicting interpretation of the same norms is insignificant. The International Court of Justice remains the only international court of general jurisdiction. Its pronouncements on general international law are the most persuasive for all the specialized international judicial bodies, which contribute to the development of international law in specialized areas. So, the unity of international law system is maintained.