CYIL vol. 12 (2021)

CYIL 12 (2021)

Pokojné řešení sporů v mezinárodním právu

Pavel Šturma, Zuzana Trávničková (eds.) Pokojné řešení sporů v mezinárodním právu Praha: ČSMP 2020, pp. 255, ISBN: 9788087488379 [Peaceful Settlement of Disputes in International Law]

Peaceful settlement of disputes is a traditional part of public international law. We have been witnessing the fast development of this area predominantly during the 20 th century. Particularly the horrors of the first and the second world war led to the adoption of several important treaties including the Paris Peace Accords, the Kellogg–Briand Pact, or the United Nations Charter which significantly influenced the behaviour of States in favoiur of a non-violent dispute resolution. This progress was further enhanced and reflected in the establishment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and its predecessor the Permanent Court of International Justice (PCIJ), or in other words by judicialization of international law. The topic also became the main theme for the collective publication activity of Czech and Slovak authors from the academia, states institutions, and private practice, which has recently published the Czech Society of International Law and co-edited by prof. Pavel Šturma (Charles University, Institute of State and Law) and dr. Zuzana Trávničková (Prague University of Economics and Business). The assembled authors investigated various aspects of peaceful settlements of international disputes and approached the topic from a diverse methodological background. The first part of the book covers historical developments and begins with an introduction to the Treaty of Kadesh, the Egyptian-Hittite peace treaty concluded between Ramses II and Hattusilis III after the Battle of Kadesh in 13th century BC. Following interesting historical chapter examines a less known part of the post-war history describing the process of the liquidation of the League of Nations and transfer of its assets to the United Nations Organisation. Another noteworthy retrospective contribution by the Chair of the UN International Law Commission (ILC) himself follows the codification work of the ILC on dispute settlement provisions and shows a relatively mixed picture of those rules. The second part of the book focuses on the International Court of Justice, demonstrating that despite having over 70 years long existence, its decision-making process still raises new questions. Two of them are undeniably the use of interim measures by the ICJ and the determination of the existence of a dispute before the ICJ. The book analyses both questions in detail. In the third part, the common denominator of all contributions is an investment arbitration or so-called investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). This part starts with the chapter discussing international investment arbitration in the energy, mainly oil and gas, sector in which the ISDS is a frequently used tool for dispute settlement. The subsequent chapter is equally interesting and looks back on the practice of mixed claims commissions and its relevance for the contemporary investment arbitration and controversies around its legitimacy. Other contributions to this part investigate investment disputes initiated by multinational corporations as claimants and the impact of non-satisfaction on pre-arbitration requirements on arbitration proceedings.

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