From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Courts established by international agreements
The
International Criminal Court in
The Hague
International courts are formed by
treaties between
nations , or by an
international organization such as the
United Nations – and include ad hoc tribunals and permanent institutions but exclude any courts arising purely under national authority.
Definition
An international court is an
international organization , or a body of an international organization, that hears cases in which one party may be a state or international organization (or body thereof), and which is composed of independent judges who follow predetermined rules of procedure to issue binding decisions on the basis of
international law .
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History
Early examples of international courts include the
Nuremberg and
Tokyo tribunals established in the aftermath of
World War II . Several such international courts are presently located in
The Hague in the
Netherlands , most importantly the
International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the
International Criminal Court (ICC). Further international courts exist elsewhere, usually with their jurisdiction restricted to a particular country, a global or regional intergovernmental or supranational organisation, or historic issue, such as the
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda that deals with the
genocide in
Rwanda .
In addition to international tribunals created to address crimes committed during genocides and civil war,
ad hoc courts and tribunals combining international and domestic strategies have also been established on a situational basis. Examples of these "hybrid tribunals" are the
Special Court for Sierra Leone ,
Special Tribunal for Lebanon ,
Special Panels of the Dili District Court in East Timor, and the
Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia .
Privileges and immunities
Judges and high-level staff of such courts may be afforded
diplomatic immunity if their governing authority allows.
List of international courts
Defendants in the dock at the
International Military Tribunal in
Nuremberg
Name
Subject matter and scope
Headquarters
Years active
African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights
Human rights within the
African Union
Addis Ababa ,
Ethiopia (2006–7)
Arusha ,
Tanzania (2007–present)
2006–present
Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization
Trade disputes within the
World Trade Organization
Geneva ,
Switzerland
1995–present
Benelux Court of Justice
Trade disputes within the
Benelux
Brussels ,
Belgium
1975–present
Caribbean Court of Justice
General disputes within the
Caribbean Community
Port of Spain ,
Trinidad and Tobago
2005–present
CIS Economic Court
Trade disputes and interpretation of treaties within the
Commonwealth of Independent States
Minsk ,
Belarus
1994–present
COMESA Court of Justice
Trade disputes within the
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
Khartoum ,
Sudan
1998–present
Common Court of Justice and Arbitration of the OHADA
Interpretation of
OHADA treaties and uniform laws
Abidjan ,
Ivory Coast
1998–present
Court of Justice of the Andean Community
Trade disputes within the
Andean Community
Quito ,
Ecuador
1983–present
Court of the Eurasian Economic Union
Trade disputes and interpretation of treaties within the
Eurasian Economic Union
Minsk ,
Belarus
2015–present
East African Court of Justice
Interpretation of
East African Community treaties
Arusha ,
Tanzania
2001–present
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
General disputes within the
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
Castries ,
Saint Lucia
1967–present
ECOWAS Court of Justice
Interpretation of
Economic Community of West African States treaties
Abuja ,
Nigeria
1996–present
European Court of Human Rights
Human rights within the
Council of Europe
Strasbourg ,
France
1959–present
European Court of Justice
Interpretation of
European Union law
Luxembourg City ,
Luxembourg
1952–present
European Free Trade Association Court
Interpretation of
European Free Trade Association law
Luxembourg City ,
Luxembourg
1994–present
European Nuclear Energy Tribunal
Nuclear energy disputes within the
OECD
Paris ,
France
1960–present
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Human rights within the
Organization of American States
San José ,
Costa Rica
1979–present
International Court of Justice
General disputes globally (
UN )
The Hague ,
Netherlands
1945–present
International Criminal Court
Criminal prosecutions globally (
Rome Statute )
The Hague ,
Netherlands
2002–present
International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda
Criminal prosecutions for the
Rwandan genocide (
UN )
Arusha, Tanzania
1994−2015
International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
Criminal prosecutions for the
Yugoslav Wars (
UN )
The Hague ,
Netherlands
1993−2017
International Military Tribunal
Criminal prosecutions of
Nazi German officials for
World War II /
Holocaust (
Nuremberg Charter )
Nuremberg ,
post-war Germany
1945–1946
International Military Tribunal for the Far East
Criminal prosecutions of
Imperial Japanese officials for
World War II (
Tokyo Charter )
Tokyo ,
Japan
1946−1948
International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals
Completing the Rwanda and Yugoslav Tribunals' work (
UN )
The Hague ,
Netherlands
2012−present
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Maritime disputes globally (
UNCLOS )
Hamburg ,
Germany
1994–present
Permanent Court of International Justice
General disputes globally (
League of Nations )
The Hague ,
Netherlands
1922–1946
Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone
Completing the Special Court for Sierra Leone's work (
UN )
Freetown ,
Sierra Leone
2013−present
SADC Tribunal
Interpretation of
Southern African Development Community treaties
Windhoek ,
Namibia
2005–2012
Special Court for Sierra Leone
Criminal prosecutions for the
Sierra Leone Civil War (
UN )
Freetown ,
Sierra Leone
2002−2013
Special Tribunal for Lebanon
Criminal prosecutions for the
assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri (
UN )
Leidschendam ,
Netherlands
2009−present
List of hybrid tribunals
Lectures
See also
References
External links