Creating a More ‘Just’ Order - The International Politics of Judicial Intervention

Abstract

Human rights are increasingly recognised as part of international law and politics, but they at times conflict with principles of state sovereignty and non-intervention. This thesis examines the conflict that exists between the order provided by states and various aspirations for justice as expressed in cases of international judicial interventions. It argues that a shift has taken place in international relations from a predominantly state-centric view of international law towards an increased recognition of principles of individual justice. The overarching theoretical and analytical framework of this thesis is based on the English School of International Relations and its pluralist and solidarist approaches to the conflict between order and justice. Pluralism emphasises order over justice whereas solidarism looks at ways of overcoming the conflict by recognising the mutual interdependence of order and justice. The framework chosen also integrates a constructivist approach and the ‘norm life cycle’ to explain how norms emerge and are internalised in international society. Through close textual analysis, this thesis examines four case studies as concrete expressions of the order and justice conflict: Pinochet and the House of Lords; the Congo versus Belgium at the ICJ; the establishment of the ad hoc war crimes tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia; and the creation of the International Criminal Court. It is argued that these cases reflect different stages of the norm life cycle and demonstrate normative developments that lead to changes in the rules of international society. The cases illustrate both acceptance as well as resistance to such developments which suggests that norm development is not a neat progression but rather a dynamic process. The overall argument of the thesis is that a development has taken place in international relations towards increased recognition and internalisation of human rights and their enforcement in the international order. This can be seen as a starting point for the creation of a more ‘just’ order.