Book on role of states and society in International Court of Justice published by Springer Nature

On December 19, a book called “Expanding Access to Justice: An Empirical Analysis of the Participation of State and Non-State Actors in the International Court of Justice,” coordinated by Professor Paula Wojcikiewicz Almeida of the FGV Rio de Janeiro Law School and jointly written with researcher Giulia Romay, will be published by international publishing company Springer Nature. The publication is the result of a five-year research project carried out by the FGV Rio de Janeiro Law School’s Jean Monnet Center of Excellence.

The authors set out to fill a gap in the academic literature specializing in international law. Their study stands out for its use of a quantitative and qualitative interdisciplinary empirical methodology aimed at mapping all formal and informal avenues of access to the International Court of Justice.

This is the first and foremost systematic analysis of the participation of states, international organizations, non-governmental organizations and individuals in the United Nations’ primary judicial body.

The intention was to map the civil society voices that are heard by the International Court of Justice on issues of public interest and to explore the challenges and possibilities of expanding access to international courts.

Among other things, the study found that the court’s existing formal access channels have historically been underused by the main actors involved in resolving international disputes. In addition to the avenues of access already provided for, the research identified a great deal of interest among civil society groups in litigation in international courts, even though these groups do not have formal and direct access to international justice.

The researchers suggest that such mechanisms could be used more frequently not only by states, but also by international and non-governmental organizations, whenever a court case may affect civil society. Expanded access to international justice would pave the way to a greater contribution by civil society to the court’s deliberations and the development of international law.

The proliferation of lawsuits related to matters of public interest such as peace, security, human rights and the environment has led to growing attempts at participation by various civil society actors.

“We are proud of the international and national recognition of the rigor, quality and innovative nature of our research conducted at FGV’s Jean Monnet Center of Excellence,” said Professor Paula W. Almeida and researcher Giulia Romay.

Recognition

The project was also awarded an Outstanding Research Certificate by Fundação Getulio Vargas during its eighth Research and Innovation Symposium, held on November 25 in Rio de Janeiro.

Pre-order the book now!

“Expanding Access to Justice: An Empirical Analysis of the Participation of State and Non-State Actors in the International Court of Justice” is available to pre-order here.