International Courts and Domestic Politics

Since the establishment of the first permanent international court in 1922, states have created more than 25 international judicial bodies. This trend towards international judicialization has accelerated after the end of the Cold War. States have thus established a cascade of international courts and tribunals, the mandates of which go well beyond peace and arbitration to cover issues as diverse as human rights, international criminal law, trade and investment, and new courts are being called for in issue-areas where they do not yet exist. Moreover, in some areas, courts have arguably managed to expand their authority beyond their original mandates, and engage not only in adjudicating, interpreting and monitoring international treaty compliance, but increasingly contribute to the making of international law.

This development suggests a number of challenging research puzzles, especially as international courts impact on domestic political orders. For instance, how do governments, parliaments, national courts, bureaucracies and other sub-state actors and institutions interact with the new authority of international courts? Under which conditions do these international judicial bodies become effective nationally? And how does this new and expanding international judiciary impact on established national constitutional democratic orders?

Drawing on political science, law and sociology, this interdisciplinary  conference seeks to address these and other questions relating to the impact of international judicial institutions on domestic legal and political orders.