Compliance with International Court Judgments and Decisions

Oxford Handbook of International Adjudication, Karen J. Alter, Cesare Romano and Yuval Shany, eds., 2013

Univ. of Wisconsin Legal Studies Research Paper No. 1219

33 Pages Posted: 9 Jan 2013 Last revised: 12 Feb 2013

Date Written: January 6, 2013

Abstract

Often we speak as if international courts were a form of enforcement: we assume that once a legal regime acquires a court, it has teeth. Both within national and international legal systems, however, implementation of adjudicated decisions is itself an enforcement problem. Compliance is not always a straightforward or likely outcome. It is the product of an uncertain and at times lengthy process shaped by political and social dynamics. All the more so in the international realm, wherein courts still lack purse and sword, but are more loosely linked to the executive branches and other actors on which they ultimately depend for the efficacy of their judgments. This chapter explores when and how the rulings of international adjudicative bodies receive compliance. What do recent studies in social science and law reveal about when and how international courts achieve compliance, and what impact, in turn, does compliance " or its absence " have on international courts?

Keywords: international courts, compliance, international relations, implementation of judgments, international adjudication

JEL Classification: K40

Suggested Citation

Huneeus, Alexandra Valeria, Compliance with International Court Judgments and Decisions (January 6, 2013). Oxford Handbook of International Adjudication, Karen J. Alter, Cesare Romano and Yuval Shany, eds., 2013, Univ. of Wisconsin Legal Studies Research Paper No. 1219, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2198595

Alexandra Valeria Huneeus (Contact Author)

University of Wisconsin Law School ( email )

975 Bascom Mall
Madison, WI 53706
United States

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