Commentaries on World Court Decisions (1987-1996)

This book provides a full description of the judicial activity of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) during the busiest decade in its 50-year history (January 1, 1987 - December 31, 1996). The introductory chapter provides a basic description of the role and procedures of the ICJ, designed to facilitate a better understanding of its functioning. Actual statistics from the period 1987-1997 are used as examples. Ten chapters contain the scholarly commentaries of thirteen mainly American international lawyers on the twelve Judgements and five Advisory Opinions rendered by the ICJ between 1987 and 1997. Each commentary describes the facts of a particular case, the arguments of the parties involved and the decision of the ICJ. Each commentator also gives his personal assessment of the decision reviewed and explains the decision in the light of the Court's earlier jurisprudence and international law. Every chapter opens with a review of the judicial activity of the ICJ during a given year, using the General List of ICJ cases, pleadings filed, Orders, Judgements and Advisory Opinions issued and hearings held at the Peace Palace to describe the statistics on the docket of the ICJ, the composition of the ICJ (Judges and Judges ad hoc), the regional distribution to States parties in cases before the ICJ, together with a list of the most important ICJ literature. In sum, the book presents `all you ever wanted to know about the World Court' between 1987 and 1997 for both ICJ practitioners and students of international law. The book includes reprints from the American Journal of International Law as well as new material.