Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes Source: Coquia-Santiago, Public International Law.

1. Peaceful Settlement of
International Disputes
Sherryl Melgar
Lawrence Villamar
LLB 2-2

2. Dispute
 A disagreement on a point of law or fact,
a conflict of legal views or interest
between the parties (Coquia and
Santiago, 2005)

3. International Dispute
• Actual disagreement between States
regarding the conduct taken by one of them
for protection or vindication of the interests
of the other (Nachura, 2009)
• A disagreement on a point of law or fact, a
conflict of legal views or of interests
between two States. Disputes relate to an
alleged breach of one or more legal duties.
They may also relate to a question of
attribution of title to territory, to maritime
zones, to movables or to parts of the
cultural heritage of a State (Brownlie, 2009)

4. Kinds of Disputes
 Political disputes
◦ Non-justiciable, political or non-legal issues
 Legal disputes
◦ Involves not only questions of law but also
the law itself

5. Pacific Settlement of Disputes
• Art. 33 of the UN Charter provides for the
means of settling disputes:
2. Negotiation
3. Enquiry
4. Mediation
5. Conciliation
6. Arbitration
7. Judicial settlement
8. Resort to regional agencies or arrangements
9. Other peaceful means of their own choice

6. Negotiation
 Settlement of disputes by direct
discussions or exchange of views through
diplomatic representatives

7. Enquiry
 Ascertainment of pertinent facts and
issues in a dispute
 Use of effective fact- finding bodies in
accordance of Art. 33 of the Charter

8. Mediation
 Settlement of dispute undertaken by a
third State, group of States, an individual,
an agency or an international organization
 Offers concrete proposals for settlement
of substantive questions

9. Tender of Good Office
 Offer of a third party to settle
international dispute
 Facilitate efforts towards settlement of
dispute and act as a channel of
communication for parties]
 Normally seeks to encourage the parties
to resume negotiation

10. Mediation vs Tender of Good
Office
 In mediation, third party offers a solution
and makes proposals; good office merely
brings the parties together

11. Conciliation
 A combination of mediation and inquiry
(Handbook on the Peaceful Settlement of
Disputes between State, 1992)

12. Arbitration
 Resolution of differences between States
through a legal decision of one or more
umpires or of a tribunal chosen by the
parties

13. Resort to Regional Arrangements
and other Agencies
• Regional arrangements
– agreements (regional multilateral treaties) under
which States of a region undertake to regulate
their relations with respect to the question of the
settlement of disputes, without creating
thereunder a permanent institution or a regional
international organization with international legal
personality
• Regional agencies
– regional international organizations created by
regional multilateral treaties under a permanent
institution with international legal personality to
perform broader functions in the field of the
maintenance of peace and security, including the
settlement of disputes.

14. Judicial Settlement
 Submitting a dispute to a pre-constituted
international court or tribunal composed
of independent judges whose tasks are
settle claims on the basis of international
law and render decisions which are
binding upon the parties

15. International Court of Justice
 Established in 1946 as a principal organ of
the United Nations
 Its seat is at the Peace Palace in The
Hague (Netherlands)
 it replaced the Permanent Court of
International Justice which had functioned
in the Peace Palace since 1922

16. International Court of Justice
• Composition:
– 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office by the United
Nations General Assembly and Security Council sitting
independently of each other.
– It may not include more than one judge of any nationality.
– Elections are held every three years for one-third of the seats,
and retiring judges may be re-elected. The Members of the
Court do not represent their governments but are independent
magistrates.
– The judges must possess the qualifications required in their
respective countries for appointment to the highest judicial
offices, or be jurists of recognized competence in international
law.
– The composition of the Court has also to reflect the main forms
of civilization and the principal legal systems of the world.

17. International Court of Justice
• Functions:
2. to settle in accordance with international
law the legal disputes submitted to it by
States, and
3. to give advisory opinions on legal
questions referred to it by duly
authorized international organs and
agencies.

18. International Court of Justice
 Parties to a case:
◦ Only States may be parties to cases brought
before the Court

19. International Court of Justice
• Jurisdiction and competence of the court:
– jurisdiction of the Court depends upon
consent, the recognition of the States of the
jurisdiction of the Court over a dispute.
Recognition may be expressed by
2.Special agreement
3.Compromissory clause in treaties
4.Other means (declaration of States that they
accept in advance the jurisdiction of the court
in certain cases; Optional Clause)

20. Reservation to Acceptance of
Jurisdiction
• Types:
2. Rationae temporis
– temporal jurisdiction refers to the jurisdiction
usually of a court of law over a proposed
action in relation to the passage of time
3. Matters within the domestic jurisdiction
of the declarant