Judging under constraint

International courts are regularly called upon to address some of the most pressing issues of international and regional affairs. Policymakers, practitioners, and scholars observe variation in how international courts respond to the cases brought before them. At times, international courts defer to states, whereby they accept a state’s exercise of authority. Other times, they reject states’ exercise of authority. How can we explain this variation in judicial deference?

During this event, Theresa Squatrito will present her new book, which examines deference by international courts. She will explain how a judicial deference is shaped by judicial independence and the political preferences of states. She will demonstrate this argument based on evidence on the East African Court of Justice, Caribbean Court of Justice, and African Court of Human and Peoples’ Rights.

Discussants will discuss the findings of the book and consider how the book sheds light on the judicialization of world politics.

Meet our speaker

Theresa Squatrito is Associate Professor in International Organisations in the Department of International Relations at LSE. She teaches international organisations and international institutions at LSE. Her research focuses on international organisations (IOs) and international law. Through the comparative study of international institutions, she contributes to debates on the institutional design, performance, and legitimacy of IOs and international courts (ICs). Currently, her research examines how the institutional design of ICs shapes judicial decision-making as well as the legitimacy of international courts.

Discussants

Kofi Oteng Kufuor is Professor of Law in the University of East London. He is the author of The Institutional Transformation of the Economic Community of West African States, (2006) Ashgate; The African Human Rights System: Origin and Evolution, (2010) Palgrave Macmillan; African Unification: Law, Problems and Prospects (2016) Carolina Academic Press; The African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement: The Development of a Regional Rules-Based Trading Order (2024) Routledge; and World Trade Governance and Developing Countries: the GATT/WTO Code Committee System, (2004) Blackwell.

Mark A Pollack is Thomas J. Freaney Professor of Political Science and Law and Jean Monnet Chair at Temple University. His research focuses on international law, international organizations, and EU law and politics. He is the co-host, with Katerina Linos, of the Borderlines CJEU Profiles series of interviews with judges and advocates general of the European Court of Justice.

Chair

Jens Meierhenrich is Professor of International Relations in the Department of International Relations at LSE.

More about this event

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