# International court

International courts are formed by treaties between nations, or by an international organization such as the United Nations – and include ad hoc tribunals and permanent institutions but exclude any courts arising purely under national authority.

## Definition

An international court is an international organization, or a body of an international organization, that hears cases in which one party may be a state or international organization (or body thereof), and which is composed of independent judges who follow predetermined rules of procedure to issue binding decisions on the basis of international law.

## History

Early examples of international courts include the Nuremberg and Tokyo tribunals established in the aftermath of World War II. Several such international courts are presently located in The Hague in the Netherlands, most importantly the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and the International Criminal Court (ICC). Further international courts exist elsewhere, usually with their jurisdiction restricted to a particular country, a global or regional intergovernmental or supranational organisation, or historic issue, such as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda that deals with the genocide in Rwanda.
In addition to international tribunals created to address crimes committed during genocides and civil war, ad hoc courts and tribunals combining international and domestic strategies have also been established on a situational basis. Examples of these "hybrid tribunals" are the Special Court for Sierra Leone, Special Tribunal for Lebanon, Special Panels of the Dili District Court in East Timor, and the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia.

## Privileges and immunities

Judges and high-level staff of such courts may be afforded diplomatic immunity if their governing authority allows.

## List of international courts

| Name | Subject matter and scope | Headquarters | Years active |
| African Court on Human and Peoples' Rights | Human rights within the African Union | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2006–7) Arusha, Tanzania (2007–present) | 2006–present |
| Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization | Trade disputes within the World Trade Organization | Geneva, Switzerland | 1995–present |
| Benelux Court of Justice | Trade disputes within the Benelux | Brussels, Belgium | 1975–present |
| Caribbean Court of Justice | General disputes within the Caribbean Community | Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago | 2005–present |
| CIS Economic Court | Trade disputes and interpretation of treaties within the Commonwealth of Independent States | Minsk, Belarus | 1994–present |
| COMESA Court of Justice | Trade disputes within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa | Khartoum, Sudan | 1998–present |
| Common Court of Justice and Arbitration of the OHADA | Interpretation of OHADA treaties and uniform laws | Abidjan, Ivory Coast | 1998–present |
| Court of Justice of the Andean Community | Trade disputes within the Andean Community | Quito, Ecuador | 1983–present |
| Court of the Eurasian Economic Union | Trade disputes and interpretation of treaties within the Eurasian Economic Union | Minsk, Belarus | 2015–present |
| East African Court of Justice | Interpretation of East African Community treaties | Arusha, Tanzania | 2001–present |
| Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court | General disputes within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States | Castries, Saint Lucia | 1967–present |
| ECOWAS Court of Justice | Interpretation of Economic Community of West African States treaties | Abuja, Nigeria | 1996–present |
| European Court of Human Rights | Human rights within the Council of Europe | Strasbourg, France | 1959–present |
| European Court of Justice | Interpretation of European Union law | Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | 1952–present |
| European Free Trade Association Court | Interpretation of European Free Trade Association law | Luxembourg City, Luxembourg | 1994–present |
| European Nuclear Energy Tribunal | Nuclear energy disputes within the OECD | Paris, France | 1960–present |
| Inter-American Court of Human Rights | Human rights within the Organization of American States | San José, Costa Rica | 1979–present |
| International Court of Justice | General disputes globally (UN) | The Hague, Netherlands | 1945–present |
| International Criminal Court | Criminal prosecutions globally (Rome Statute) | The Hague, Netherlands | 2002–present |
| International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda | Criminal prosecutions for the Rwandan genocide (UN) | Arusha, Tanzania | 1994−2015 |
| International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia | Criminal prosecutions for the Yugoslav Wars (UN) | The Hague, Netherlands | 1993−2017 |
| International Military Tribunal | Criminal prosecutions of Nazi German officials for World War II/Holocaust (Nuremberg Charter) | Nuremberg, post-war Germany | 1945–1946 |
| International Military Tribunal for the Far East | Criminal prosecutions of Imperial Japanese officials for World War II (Tokyo Charter) | Tokyo, Japan | 1946−1948 |
| International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals | Completing the Rwanda and Yugoslav Tribunals' work (UN) | The Hague, Netherlands | 2012−present |
| International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea | Maritime disputes globally (UNCLOS) | Hamburg, Germany | 1994–present |
| Permanent Court of International Justice | General disputes globally (League of Nations) | The Hague, Netherlands | 1922–1946 |
| Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone | Completing the Special Court for Sierra Leone's work (UN) | Freetown, Sierra Leone | 2013−present |
| SADC Tribunal | Interpretation of Southern African Development Community treaties | Windhoek, Namibia | 2005–2012 |
| Special Court for Sierra Leone | Criminal prosecutions for the Sierra Leone Civil War (UN) | Freetown, Sierra Leone | 2002−2013 |
| Special Tribunal for Lebanon | Criminal prosecutions for the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri (UN) | Leidschendam, Netherlands | 2009−2023 |

## List of hybrid tribunals

| Name | Years active | Subject matter |
| Extraordinary African Chambers | 2013–present | Criminal prosecutions for crimes against humanity committed during President Hissène Habré's tenure |
| Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia | 2006–present | Criminal prosecutions of Khmer Rouge officials for the Cambodian genocide |
| Kosovo Specialist Chambers | 2017–present | Criminal prosecutions of Kosovo Liberation Army officials for war crimes during the Kosovo War |
| Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone | 2013−present | Criminal prosecutions for war crimes during the Sierra Leone Civil War |
| Special Court for Sierra Leone | 2002–2013 | Criminal prosecutions for war crimes during the Sierra Leone Civil War |
| Special Panels of the Dili District Court | 2000–2006 | Criminal prosecutions for war crimes during the 1999 East Timorese crisis |
| Special Tribunal for Lebanon | 2009−2023 | Criminal prosecutions for the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri |

## Lectures

* Lecture by Yuval Shany (Yuval Shany) entitled Assessing the Effectiveness of International Courts: A Goal-based Approach in the Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
* Lecture by Sir Elihu Lauterpacht entitled The Role of the International Judge in the Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
* Lecture by Kenneth Keith entitled Aspects of the Judicial Process in National and International Courts and Tribunals in the Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law
* Lecture by Mark Weston Janis entitled Protestants, Progress and Peace: the 19th Century Movement for an International Court and Congress: Early Drafts of Today's International Court and the United Nations in the Lecture Series of the United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law