CYIL vol. 14 (2023)

CYIL 14 (2023) THE CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE Carlos Espósito and Kate Parlett (eds.) The Cambridge Companion to The International Court of Justice

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023, 548 pp. [Cambridgeský průvoce k Mezinárodnímu soudnímu dvoru]

The last publication in the edition series “Cambridge Companion to Law”, which was already launched ten years ago titled The Cambridge Companion to International Law, edited by James Crawford and Martti Koskenniemi, 1 focuses on the International Court of Justice. As usual, the Cambridge Companion presents a thought-provoking introduction to this subject of law, invaluable to both the student and the scholar. This volume, edited by Professor Carlos Espósito, professor of Public International Law at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and Dr. Kate Parlett, a barrister at Twenty Essex in London, includes 22 chapters written by leading academics and practitioners in international law. They cover most aspects of the history, the actual role, functions, procedures of the Court as well as its contribution to the determination and development of substantive rules of international law in various areas. The Companion is structured in three parts, each of them covers one of the major issues, namely the role of the ICJ, the ICJ and international dispute settlement, and the impact of the ICJ’s jurisprudence. The first part presents the historical and contemporary role of the ICJ, including its various functions, history, jurisdiction, and its effectiveness as a judicial body and as contributing to the development of international law and to international peace and security. This part commences with a chapter co-authored by the late Judge James Crawford, Professor Freya Baetens, and Rose Cameron, focused on the functions of the ICJ. The chapter shows the origins of the ICJ in its predecessor, the Permanent Court of International Justice, and considers the core functions of the Court, i.e., deciding disputes and providing advisory opinions. Chapter 2 is on “The Role of an ICJ Judge” was written by Sir Kenneth Keith, former judge of the ICJ. It first considers the process of nomination and election of judges. This is indeed an important issue that attracts interest of the academia and practitioners. 2 Then the author examines the way in which the Court engages with the parties and the process of adoption of judgments and opinions of the Court. In Chapter 3, Professor Dire Tladi looks at the role of the ICJ in the development of international law. He presents concrete examples of the way in which the judgments and opinions have had influence on the development of international law: obligations erga omnes ( Barcelona Traction case), law of immunities ( Arrest Warrant case), and rules concerning the use of force ( Military and Paramilitary Activities case). He points out that the ICJ does not 1 CRAWFORD, James and KOSKENNIEMI, Martti (eds.), The Cambridge Companion to International Law . Cambridge: CUP, 2012. 2 It was also addressed in some recent publications. In the Central-European context, see ŠTURMA, Pavel and TRÁVNÍČKOVÁ, Zuzana (eds.), Soudy a soudci v mezinárodním právu. Otázky výběru, nominace a volby soudců [Courts and Judges in International Law. Issues of selection, nomination and election of judges]. Praha: Czech Society of International Law, 2022.

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