States that are in transition following a violent conflict or an authoritarian past face daunting challenges in (re)establishing the rule of law. This volume examines the detailed attempts that were made in certain significant post-conflict or post-authoritarian situations to strengthen the domestic rule of law with the aid of international law. Attention is paid in particular to the empowerment of domestic courts in such situations. International law may serve these courts as a tool for reconciling the demands for new rights and responsibilities with due process and other rule of law requirements. The book contains case studies of the role of domestic courts in various post-conflict and transitional situations: the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan, Nepal, East Timor, Russia, South Africa, and Rwanda. Each of these case studies examines questions relating to: the exact constitutional moment that empowers domestic courts to apply international law * the range of international legal norms that are applied * the involvement of international actors in bringing about change * the contextualization of international legal norms in States in transition * tension within such States as a result of the application of international law * the legacy of domestic courts' empowerment in terms of durable rule of law entrenchment. (Series: Series on Transitional Justice - Vol. 9)
Edda Kristjansdottir (LL.M, UCLA, 1995; PhD in Law, NYU School of Law, 1998) is member of þOR - þróun og rannsóknir ehf. since 2012. From 2005 till 2010 she was Managing Editor, International Law in Domestic Courts "ILDC" Online database at the Universiteit van Amsterdam.She was Legal Counsel at the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague (2001-2003); Associate Legal Officer at the International Organization for Migration in Geneva (2002) and Law Clerk at the International Court of Justice (2000-2001).
André Nollkaemper has degrees in political science (1987) and law (1988), with a cum laude doctorate obtained from the University of Utrecht (1993) on a thesis on the legal regime for transboundary water pollution. He is Professor of Public International Law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Amsterdam. He is also external Legal Advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, Member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, President of the European Society of International Law and Member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1999, he established the Amsterdam Center for International Law (ACIL), which has become a centre of excellence at the University of Amsterdam and ranks amongst the top institutions for international law in the Netherlands. His practical experience includes cases before the European Court on Human Rights, the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, courts of the Netherlands and consultancy for a variety of international and national organisations. From 1998 to 2010 he was of-counsel at Bohler, attorneys in Amsterdam.
Cedric Ryngaert (
lic. jur. Leuven 2001
; PhD Leuven 2007) is Chair of Public International Law at Utrecht University (Netherlands). He is the research team leader of a project on unilateralism and global values, funded by the European Research Council and the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research. Until 2014, he also taught at Leuven University.
Among other publications, he authored
Jurisdiction in International Law (OUP 2008), and co-edited
The International Prosecutor (OUP 2012). In 2012, Cedric obtained the Prix Henri Rolin, a five-yearly prize for international law and international relations for his work on jurisdiction. Cedric was co-rapporteur of the International Law Association's Committee on Non-State Actors between 2007 and 2014. He is currently an editor of the "Netherlands International Law Review, Human Rights and International Legal Discourse"
and the "Utrecht Law Review". He has been guest lecturer at the Royal Military Academy of Belgium, the China EU School of Law, Reykjavik University, Université de Liège, Kent University, Hasselt University, and University College Lessius Antwerp. Cedric's main research interests are: jurisdiction and immunities, non-state actors in international law, the law of international organizations, the interplay between human rights and general international law, international criminal law and post-conflict justice, and the role of domestic courts in the implementation of international law.
