Classic Cases

When States make reservations to treaties, confusion ensues. The legal effect of these reservations among the parties to the treaty is complex. After World War II, it was uncertain as to what the [...]

The North Sea Continental Shelf Case is a classic case for something other than what the case is ultimately about. Argued and decided in the late 1960s, this case came in the midst of the [...]

The 2002 Arrest Warrant case of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) about former Congolese Foreign Minister Yerodia stumped a rapid movement towards prosecuting both former and sitting high [...]

Court cases need not be old for these cases to become classics. The Jurisdictional Immunities case between Germany and Italy is an insta-classic. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) clearly [...]

Sometimes a national court decision will have just as much impact on international law and international legal argument, as any judgement coming from the International Court of Justice. The issue [...]

This is a classic case in the sense that it has become a staple in teaching. At least it was for me. And I mentioned it in my International Law 1000 series installment on the relationship with [...]

To follow up on the latest International Law 1000 installment on treaties, I could have chosen for the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros case. But that case, while often used in the classroom, is too complex [...]

When teaching international law there are always cases that are mentioned, but never truly discussed. We either just quote a few sentences, or only refer to them as a source for a point to be [...]

The story of the ICJ’s Reparation for Injuries Advisory Opinion is made up of three parts, although the Court’s opinion concentrates on only one. This is the story of a Swedish diplomat and his [...]