Remarks by Philippa Webb

In: Proceedings of the ASIL Annual Meeting, Band 112, S. 241-241

Abstract

I was a silent observer in deliberations and readings at the ICJ for
fifteen cases, and my opinion of those was very positive. Laborious, yes,
time-consuming, yes. But in the end, it improves the outcome. What I find so
striking about the ICJ in comparison to other courts and so important with
its status as the principal judicial organ is that it is the judges who hold
the pen. There is a drafting committee of three judges, but after that the
judges have readings where they engage with the draft paragraph by paragraph
for the first reading, page by page for the second reading. In most cases
this process leads to a net improvement in the final result, so I can see
from an efficiency point of view it may not be ideal, but for the authority
and the quality of the judgment I think it is very important.