A Study of Lawyers Appearing Before the International Court of Justice, 1999-2012

Grotius Centre Working Paper 2014/018-PIL

Leiden Law School Research Paper

29 Pages Posted: 12 May 2014 Last revised: 28 Jul 2014

See all articles by Shashank P. Kumar

Shashank P. Kumar

Appellate Body Secretariat, World Trade Organization; National Law University, Jodhpur

Cecily Rose

Leiden University - Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies

Date Written: May 11, 2014

Abstract

This article provides empirical support for what might strike some as a truism: oral proceedings before the International Court of Justice (the Court) are dominated by male international law professors from developed States. In order to test this claim, our study examines the composition of legal teams appearing on behalf of States before the Court in contentious proceedings between 1999 and 2012. We have focused, in particular, on counsels’ gender, nationality, the development status and geographical region of their country of citizenship, and their professional status (as members of law firms, barristers or solo practitioners, professors, or other). The results of our study raise questions about the evident gender imbalance among counsel who have appeared before the Court during the timeframe of this study, as well as the apparent preference that States have shown for ‘repeat players’ and professors of public international law. By presenting data on the composition of legal teams, and discussing possible explanations for the patterns that we have observed, this study aims to contribute to the development of a body of scholarship on international law as a profession.

Keywords: International Court of Justice; Oral Proceedings; International Law as a Profession; Sociology of Professions

JEL Classification: K33

Suggested Citation

Kumar, Shashank P. and Rose, Cecily, A Study of Lawyers Appearing Before the International Court of Justice, 1999-2012 (May 11, 2014). Grotius Centre Working Paper 2014/018-PIL , Leiden Law School Research Paper, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2435621 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2435621

Shashank P. Kumar

Appellate Body Secretariat, World Trade Organization ( email )

Rue de Lausanne 154
Geneva 21, CH-1211
Switzerland

National Law University, Jodhpur ( email )

NH-65
Mandore
Jodhpur, Rajasthan 342 304
India

Cecily Rose (Contact Author)

Leiden University - Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies ( email )

Leiden University Law Faculty
P.O. Box 9520
Leiden, 2300 RA
Netherlands

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