Brill Collected Courses of the Xiamen Academy of International Law, Volume 4 (2011)

The Collected Courses of the Xiamen Academy of International Law contain the Summer Courses taught at the Xiamen Academy of International Law by highly qualified international legal professionals. The Fourth Volume of the Series contains the following articles: The Application of International Law by the International Court of Justice, Judge Abdul G. Koroma The first part of this contribution explains how Judicial settlement of disputes has long been recognized as central to the stability and functioning of the international order and the rule of law. The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the United Nations, plays a crucial role in the system established to this end by the Charter. The second part of the contribution discusses how the Court applies each of the sources of law contained in Article 38 of the Statute of the Court. Since the article's creation in 1920, Article 38 “has remained the principal text used by international lawyers in describing the sources, or origins of international law” . Prevention and International Law, M. Mohamed Bennouna Prevention in the context of globalization cannot take place only in the framework of State frontiers; international norms mechanisms and institutions are indispensable in order to strengthen cooperation between States to anticipate risks and prevent any prejudice to people and goods. This necessitates the adoption of appropriate obligations of prevention with the corresponding international responsibility. The development of an international law of prevention, as a process, has to be accompanied by judicial guarantees at national, regional and global levels. International Dispute Resolution, With Specific Attention to China, Christine Chinkin The lectures entitled International Dispute Resolution, with specific attention to China, first consider the concept of an international dispute and the development of the obligation on states to settle their disputes peacefully. They then examine the historical evolution and contemporary understandings of the mechanisms enumerated in United Nations Charter, Article 33 for the management and attempted resolution of such disputes which are currently available to states and other participants in the international arena: negotiation, inquiry, mediation, conciliation, mediation, arbitration and adjudication. Each of the processes is discussed in the historical, political and legal contexts of various international disputes, including the detention of the American hostages in Tehran, various aspects of the possession of nuclear weapons and the territorial dispute over Abyei. The lectures consider the respective advantages and disadvantages of these various mechanisms, the interplay between them, their effectiveness and the legal and policy issues that influence choices as to different approaches to resolution of international disputes. The Xiamen Academy of International Law aims to promote academic exchanges among legal communities across the globe, encourage examination of major international issues and, by so doing, seek ways to improve the possibilities for world peace and international cooperation. It seeks to achieve this aim by providing the highest level of education to individuals, particularly those from Asian countries, interested in the development and use of international law – persons such as young lecturers in international law, diplomats, practitioners of transnational law, government officials in charge of foreign affairs, and officials of international organizations.