Nihil Novum Sub Sole Since the West-Africa Cases? On Ius Standi, the ICJ and Community Interests

Abstract:     
The Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Rwanda Judgement of 3rd February 2006 marked the first occasion in which the International Court of Justice expressly pronounced on the jus cogens character of a norm of international law. Th e Court did also expressly extend, for the first time, the scope of the principle of consensual jurisdiction to cover the relationship between peremptory norms of general international law and the establishment of the Court’s jurisdiction. Against this backdrop, this piece revisits some of the main ICJ milestones regarding community interests in light of recent doctrine on the question of ius standi in disputes involving obligations erga omnes and jus cogens norms. It does so in order to examine the main alternatives put forward by the doctrine to circumvent the requirement of state consent for the protection of community interests by jurisdictional means at the international level.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 27

Keywords: Ius standi, International Court of Justice, jus cogens, erga omnes, Community Interest, actio popularis, International Law

Accepted Paper Series