International law scholars as amici curiae: An emerging dialogue (of the deaf)?

Kent, Avidan and Trinidad, Jamie (2016) International law scholars as amici curiae: An emerging dialogue (of the deaf)? Leiden Journal of International Law, 29 (4). pp. 1081-1101. ISSN 0922-1565

Preview

PDF (Kent Trinidad_Proof jan 2016) - Accepted Version Download (450kB) | Preview

Abstract

International law scholars frequently seek to participate in international legal proceedings as amici curiae. Often they do so by ‘piggy-backing’ onto the submissions of NGOs and other advocacy groups. Occasionally – but increasingly in recent years – they do so in their own names, purporting to offer ‘pure’ academic expertise, and generating certain expectations of scholarly neutrality. This article focuses on the latter trend, which the authors argue has the potential to re-shape the scholar-adjudicator dialogue in interesting ways. Under the traditional approach towards ‘teachings’, the decision of whether, how and with whom to engage is firmly in the hands of the adjudicators. The proliferation of academic amicus briefs threatens to disrupt this arrangement. It also brings certain benefits: the briefs are often more ‘on point’ than doctrinal writings, while openness to unsolicited academic submissions encourages plurality and reduces reliance on reputation as a measure of scholarly quality. Our survey of the emerging practice across various international courts and tribunals indicates that adjudicators tend to be reticent when it comes to the reception of unsolicited academic amicus briefs. However, we identify several instances of productive engagement. This leads us to conclude that it would be unduly gloomy to characterise the emerging practice as a ‘dialogue of the deaf’. A fairer assessment would be that the academic amicus trend is bringing about a modest adjustment in the way that international law scholars and adjudicators engage with each other.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Law
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > International Law University of East Anglia Schools > Faculty of Science > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	22 Mar 2016 09:22
Last Modified:	20 Jun 2023 23:50
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/57736
DOI:	10.1017/S0922156516000510

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item